President Welcomes Representatives of Youth Parliaments on Children's Day (2)

Bratislava, 1 June (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini welcomed representatives of youth parliaments to the Presidential Palace on Monday, with the event taking place on the occasion of International Children's Day. Together with several members of the government and Children's Commissioner Jozef Miklosko, they discussed their vision for Slovakia. "You yourselves have met several times at your own gatherings and formed shadow ministries. And today we want to hear from you what kind of country you envision, or how you would address current issues, or what Slovakia should look like in five or ten years," the president told the young people, adding that young people need to be increasingly involved in discussions about the country's direction and that attention must be paid to what concerns them. The head of state also praised the fact that ministers chosen by the young people themselves attended the meeting. They're discussing their vision with Economy Minister Denisa Sakova (Voice-SD), Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee), Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Voice-SD), Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD), Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) and Justice Ministry State Secretary Milan Hodas. The children's commissioner highlighted that young people from various youth parliaments had gathered at the palace. He noted at a press conference following the meeting that this created a unique alliance between young people and ministers who have the power to change things for the better. The discussion was preceded by a survey of 10,200 young people, which showed that 99 percent of them are most concerned about mental health. Based on this, representatives of the youth parliaments presented their proposals for a vision of a better Slovakia to the ministers. "The ministers responded, and a creative discussion ensued, which we believe will improve the situation of children in Slovakia," added Miklosko. NOTE: This story has been extended to include the final two paragraphs. am