Berlin. Instead of “Tatort” detectives, it was children who had the floor on Sunday evening on ARD: for 15 minutes – directly after the “Tagesschau” – they spoke about violence, cyberbullying and poverty. Sabine Andresen, President of the Child Protection Association, praised the campaign: “The editorial team managed to get to the heart of the crisis facing childhood and young people in just 15 minutes. Starting with child poverty, which is only being addressed hesitantly by politicians, through the question of violence against children to the demand that children’s rights be included in the Basic Law,” she told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
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Andresen believes that the appeal could have been even clearer when it comes to society’s attitude towards children. “Children are perceived as an individual obstacle to employment or as disruptive and noisy on trains and in restaurants.” Parents and children in public spaces are met with raised eyebrows and a warning to be quiet and calm. “A loving view of children and an appreciative attitude towards parents would make many things easier,” said Andresen.
After Kebekus coup: ARD does not rule out further “disruptive actions”
Instead of “Tatort” there was an urgent appeal on Sunday at 8:15 p.m.: Comedian Carolin Kebekus promoted children’s rights in a film. The ARD thinks further surprise campaigns of this kind are conceivable in the program: “Big topics need big attention.”
Will such a TV report actually change anything? “I am not so naive as to believe that the government coalition met last night for a special session to announce the introduction of basic child benefit today,” said Andresen.
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Political awareness is shaped
Nevertheless, she is convinced that such actions have an impact. “Using the valuable broadcast slot on Sunday evening to draw attention to a topic like this that is never discussed otherwise is great and reaches a lot of people.” It also helps to shape political awareness “and also makes it easier for us – who are fighting for these demands – to exert political influence,” Andresen states.
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Ulrike Bahr, chairwoman of the Family Committee, also gave a positive response to RND’s question: “I think an action like #KINDERstören is helpful so that we talk about it beyond the circle of children’s rights organizations and that politics for children remains an issue in our ageing society.” According to Bahr, the government factions would also like to write children’s rights to protection, support and participation into the constitution. “But for that we need a two-thirds majority in parliament.”
Meanwhile, Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) commented on the ARD report on the X platform: “I am very pleased about the tailwind that the #KINDERstören campaign is bringing, because it is drawing attention to many important issues. Children are the cornerstone of every strong society.”
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In the show, which was hosted by comedian Carolin Kebekus, children appeared as “Tatort” investigators as well as presenters of “Morgenmagazin”, “Sportschau”, “Tagesschau” and “Gefragt – Gejagt”.
The #KINDERstören campaign, an initiative of the WDR, is not only intended to draw attention to grievances, but also to an extensive collection of ARD documentaries and reports on precisely these topics. The video is #KINDERstören is available in the ARD Mediathek.
