This week, our Health Rights Defenders continued their media journey by focusing on something simple yet incredibly powerful. They created posters that show what it is really like to be a child or young person living with a health condition.
Funded by Awards for All, this project is rooted in a clear belief. When children and young people are given the space, trust, and tools to lead, their voices can drive real and lasting change. This work is building towards their final piece of media, which will be launched at our My Health, My Rights Conference, where their voices will take centre stage.
Listening to Lived Experience
At the heart of this week was listening.
Not listening in a passive way but truly hearing and valuing what children and young people are telling us about their lives.
Our Health Rights Defenders spoke openly about their experiences, and one conversation in particular stayed with us.
Malak shared a powerful reflection on what it means to live with a health condition. She spoke about how it is not always negative. Sometimes it can feel good. It can build strength, perspective, and resilience. What really makes the difference is having the right support around you.
She explained that it is not the condition itself that always makes things hard. It is when people do not understand. When teachers or schools do not listen or adapt, that is when challenges grow.
Malak said:
Sometimes having a health condition can actually feel good. It can make you stronger. The hard part is when people do not understand you, especially in school. That is why we are doing this. We want people to hear our voices so it can be different for other children in the future.
Her words capture exactly why this work matters.
From Experience to Expression
This week, posters became a way to take those lived experiences and turn them into messages that others cannot ignore.
Each Health Rights Defender chose what they wanted people to understand about their life. The result was a collection of honest, thoughtful, and powerful messages.
- Some of our Health Rights Defenders focused on what it feels like waiting for support.
- Some showed what it feels like to miss out on everyday moments.
- Others highlighted the importance of being listened to and taken seriously.
Together, they tell a much bigger story about what needs to change and why it cannot wait.
Health Rights in Real Life
Our manifesto makes clear that every child has the right to the highest attainable standard of health. This week showed what that means in real life.
Our Health Rights Defenders demonstrated that when the right support is in place, children and young people can thrive. They also showed that when systems fail to listen or understand, barriers are created that do not need to exist.
Their voices remind us that children and young people are not passive recipients of care. They are experts in their own lives, and they must be part of shaping the systems designed to support them.
Children in the Driving Seat
This work is about more than creative expression. It is about shifting power.
Rhianne Forrest, Officer for Children’s Health Scotland, said:
We are incredibly grateful to Awards for All for funding this work. It is showing the power of putting children and young people in the driving seat of their own lives. Our role is not to decide what change should look like. Our role is to support our Health Rights Defenders to lead the change they want to see. When we truly listen, their voices guide us in the right direction.
This is what meaningful participation looks like. It is not about asking children and young people for their views and then deciding what happens next. It is about standing alongside them as they shape it themselves.
Looking Ahead
This week’s posters are an important step towards the final media piece that will be shared at the My Health, My Rights Conference.
The ideas, messages, and experiences shared through this work will continue to shape that final piece, ensuring it remains grounded in honesty, lived experience, and real voices.
Our Health Rights Defenders are not just taking part in a project. They are leading it with courage, insight, and purpose.
They are helping to ensure that the future is different for the children and young people who come next.
Thank You
We want to thank Awards for All for their support in making this work possible and for investing in a project that puts children and young people at the centre of change.
Most of all, we want to thank our Health Rights Defenders.
Your honesty, your courage, and your willingness to share your experiences are what drive change. We are listening, and because of you, things can be better.
OUR SMS PROGRAMMES
Our Health Rights Defenders are children and young people aged 9-17 living with a health condition or concern. They’ve taken part in our Self-Management Skills Programmes which are designed to help children feel more confident, build self esteem, cope with stress and know more about their Health Rights. These SMS Programmes are six weeks long and run through the year. They are completely free and don’t require a diagnosis to take part. Professionals can refer or you can self refer by CLICKING HERE.
📝 We want to hear from you.
Whether you are a child or young person, parent or carer, student, professional or ally — your experience matters.
➡️ Take part in the national survey on children’s rights: CLICK HERE TO TAKE PART
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