We – 46 girls and 28 boys between the age of 8 and 15 years – have put thought into our own work and that of lots of other children during our meeting. We have exchanged experiences that we made whilst jobbing, doing housework and in many other places where we became active and engaged in doing things. Together we thought about whether the things we have been doing are actually ‘work’, where we are needed and where we are being abused, what we need the money we earn for, whether the work we do can be fun, which kind of work we wish, what we can do ourselves and organise ourselves and how a world can be composed, in which we - the children – have something to say and have equal rights. We have even made a newspaper about all of this: KIDS FOR KIDS – for us and everyone who is interested in us.

We realised that we do lots of things other than just go to school. We have made experiences with earning money, we go babysitting, we deliver newspapers, we fill the shelves of supermarkets, we help out in shops, we do gardening. We sell toys and books that we no longer need on the street or mushrooms that we have collected, we take part in children’s jumble-sales. At home we help our parents clean, tidy-up, dust, feed the pets, take the dog for a walk and look after younger brothers and sisters.

Many adults, even many parents think that what we do isn’t work because we are children. But our work is also useful to them, to us and to everyone who we deal with.

We want to do things at home, we especially want to help out our family. However, we don’t want to be ordered to do things and we don’t want to be punished as soon as we fail in our duties or make a mistake. We can make our sandwiches ourselves, we are more independent than many adults think.

We – the littlens – would like to do more, but many adults don’t allow this, because they think we can’t do that or we could hurt ourselves. They should have more confidence in us and trust us to do more.

There are even lots of things we can do better. We can encourage people better when they are sad or lovesick. We are often cheeky, but we ask questions sooner or give our opinion openly where adults don’t dare to or have given up doing so. We are like insects – small, strong and tough.

Even we – the children – still need money. If there were no money, one would have to invent something else. But whoever thinks we’ve only got clothes on our mind is on the wrong track. You need money to get what you need for living. But you can’t buy everything with money, friendship for example, or love, peace, vital energy, health, happiness. Money is an important factor to work and one shouldn’t think we are ‘cheaper’ just because we are children. But money isn’t everything, work must be fun and interesting. Without work, we would die of boredom. Whilst working, we learn to be independent, we get to know people and can also learn best, what we need for life.

We do not enjoy every kind of work. We especially don’t want to be forced to do work. The work mustn’t be stressful, long-houred or too much. Furthermore, we don’t want everything to be checked and not to have any say. We really don’t want to be exploited. We also like doing things for which we don’t get paid. But we don’t let people take advantage of us when people want to exploit us. We know that we also have rights as children and are not worth any less than adults are. Because we are aware of this, we also don’t want work to be forbidden to us when we want to work.

We expect our opinions and rights to be more respected and to have more say, even in politics. A world in which children have more to say would look different. It would be more colourful and creative, more friendly and peaceful, the environment would be better off and not so much violence would rule.

We experienced a lot at our meeting. We had lots of fun with each other, but the workshops were sometimes pretty exhausting. Finally, we are content and proud of what we have managed to reach. We thank all the adults who have accompanied and supported us, who were patient with us, but didn’t give up on us when we didn’t feel like any more. We also wish to thank our parents who trusted us and let us do our thing for three days and two nights. Alone we aren’t bad, we are sharp and cunning when we need to be. But together we are even better and can reach more. We will continue.

Berlin, November 11^th, 2001