It is the thirtieth anniversary of the Year of the Child (dedicated to Janus Korczak), it is the twentieth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (inspired by the work and life of Korczak).

On 30th January, at the Town Hall, Osmani School Council took part in the first in a series of seminars on children's voice, democracy and government. Anna Roth, Education Officer for the Jewish Museum presented a short talk about Janusz and then was interviewed by the children, which will be uploaded on the web as a resource. After a Fairtrade break the children and teachers took part in a children's court in the Tower Hamlets Council Chamber. This was based on the democratic orphangage that Janusz ran in the Warsaw Ghetto. He is famous for his work with children's rights, his stories, his radio journalism, setting-up the world's first children's newspaper, and running democratic orphanages...

You can use his work with children's courts to explore the issues of justice and children's rights in the classroom. Click here to download a teaching resource looking at the children's courts.

Click here for a pdf summary about Korczak, click here for a webpage, click here for a full online biography. For a series of photographs, click here.

 Click here for Holocaust Memorial Day website.