Frequently asked questions

The Children’s General Assembly in Billund is an assembly for children from all over the world. At the Children's General Assembly, children and young people will work together to draft and adopt a manifesto as well as submit it to the world’s leaders at the Children's General Assembly in September.

The purpose is:

• For children of the world to voice their shared perspectives on world challenges and their solutions for the world
• For participating children to experience learning through play and being creative world citizens
  
  

The Children's General Assembly will be an online process from April-June, and a physical/online Children's General Assembly in September. Participants attend both the online process in April-June and the physical/online Children's General Assembly in September.

Application is open to all children of the world between the ages of 10-17, regardless of nationality, religion, gender, age, and circumstances.

You must be comfortable in speaking and writing in English. You should have access to a computer and stable international wi-fi. We do not encourage that you use a public computer so as to not risk the spread of COVID-19.

You can apply for the Children's General Assembly by a link that will be published on this website in mid-February 2022.

Applicants will receive an e-mail with information on whether they have been selected to participate in March 2022.

All applicants will be invited for a live-streaming of the Children's General Assembly Summit in September 2022. 

In mid-February, a link for applying was published.

The participants are selected through a thorough process based on the application and the KPI's set by the partnership group. The process is conducted by the workshop group/selection panel, which consists of representatives from the workshop team, facilitator team and the evaluation team. 

Members of the selection panel possess competencies within pedagogy, didactics, strategy, and evaluation. They are all trained in safeguarding children.

Safeguarding entails keeping the children's well-being the first priority, and making sure the participants feel safe and secure.

Fixed criteria: 

• Age between 10-17 years
• Good English skills, both verbal and written
• Access to a computer and stable internet

Soft criteria (assessed by the selection panel): 

• Kindness to the world
• Openness 
• Maturity
• A wish to collaborate

Other factors:

• The maximum number of participants is 80
• If possible, 1/3 of the participants must be from developing countries
  (based on UN country classification)

From mid-February to March 20, children between the ages of 10-17, regardless of nationality, religion, gender, age, and circumstance has applied for participation in Children's General Assembly. 

Over 50 nationalities have applied and we are now processing all the applications. 

March/April 2022 applicants will receive an e-mail with information on whether they have been selected to participate, as well as information on group, workshop date and times. 
 
Between April and June the selected participants will join a number of Safeguarding meetings and Co-Creation workshops.
 
The timeline leading up to the Children's General Assembly

Children across nationalities, genders and backgrounds will work together virtually in 10 groups over a three-month period before the Children's General Assembly Summit in September.

Working democratically, the groups must reach a consensus on the issues to be presented at the Summit.

The participants will learn through play and co-create a shared manifesto.

In the online process in April-June:

• each group will work together on one theme
• all children will explore and discuss global challenges in groups
• all children will discuss and co-create solutions to the global challenges in groups
• all children will co-create and prepare a theme speech in groups
• 20 representatives from across the groups will be selected to lead the consolidation of the group work and co-create a joint manifesto. 

In a process in June-September, both online and in person:

• All children will work on presenting their ideas, perspectives and the joint manifesto

The Children's General Assembly 2021 was the first ever assembly. During winter '21 there was an extensive selection- and safeguarding process in which the participants where chosen. Ten groups of approximately 8 children were compiled.

In spring, the participants took part in a series of online workshops where they worked together on topics developed by a children's panel in The Capital of Children. The topics where related to the challenges we face in the world. 

Over the summer, two representatives from each group further specified and concretized the topics and solutions, the workshop groups had developed. This took form in ten different speeches, and a manifesto that consolidated the speeches.

In September, the 20 representatives met in Billund and read their speeches and manifesto to representatives of state as well as an audience, both physical and online.

The future belongs to children, and they are the ones who must live with the consequences of the decisions made by the leaders of the world at the UN General Assembly.

In order to address and navigate through the complexity and possibilities of the world today and in the future, children need to be able to work together, communicate, think critically and creatively as well as solve problems.

The right of children to co-determination is a central tenet in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

By bringing together children from every walks of life at the Children’s General Assembly, we are creating a forum that helps children learn democratic skills, to act as creative global citizens and to get the attention of the leaders of the world.

Billund is the Capital of Children. For a century the city of Billund has had an extraordinary focus on children and for more than 10 years the municipality has had a vision: Billund is the Capital of Children. Here children learn through play and are creative citizens.

In 2020, Billund was recognized by UNICEF as a Child-Friendly City and Municipality as a result of its extraordinary efforts in relation to children and children’s rights. The ambition remains to create the world’s best city for children. And for the world.

The Children's General Assembly is developed by the Capital of Children Partnership, formed and qualified with a group of children from Billund.

The initiative is developed in collaboration with Billund Municipality, the International School of Billund, the LEGO Foundation, CoC Playful Minds, the LEGO Group, Billund Airport, LEGO House, WOW PARK, LEGOLAND, Lalandia, the Drive Foundation, KIRKBI, and AV Design.

All the workshops will be held online from April-June. We encourage the children to use their own computers or their family computers.

The Children’s General Assembly Summit in September will be a hybrid mix of in-person attendance in Billund and online attendance. 

If the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in September does not allow physical attending, the Summit will also be online – with a lineup of children’s talks on global challenges and solutions, exciting conversations across continents, and the submission of the children’s manifesto to the world leaders.

At any point, we will act accordingly to the recommendations of the Danish government.

Final decisions will be made in September 2022.