2023 - 2024 Children's Panel

"The panel helped show me how creativity can be shown in many ways such as storytelling, art , music, sculptures and acting."

Baboró Welcome Video

In the summer of 2023, the Children's Panel co-produced and starred in a video to welcome all children to Baboró.

Explaining what to expect at Galway's annual festival for children and families, the video is used throughout Baboró's website and communications to convey how central children are to the festival.

Visit from the Baboró team

In January, the Baboró Children’s Panel got an exciting glimpse into festival planning when Artistic Director, Aislinn and Executive Producer, Jen dropped by for a chat. With the 2024 Festival taking shape, they shared some early trailers of potential shows that sparked some lively discussions and plenty of curious questions.

The panel’s ideas and perspectives are at the heart of Baboró, so Aislinn also invited them to dream up what they’d like to see in the creative engagement strand of the festival. Some shared their thoughts aloud, while others put pencil to paper, capturing their ideas through writing and drawing.

Literary focus at Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop

In March, the panel stepped into the world of storytelling with a trip to Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop. They were welcomed by writer and Children’s Section Manager, Méabh McDonell, for a behind-the-scenes look at the shelves packed with stories waiting to be discovered.

Baboró Schools and Digital Coordinator, Kirsty, then led a writing workshop where the panel got to invent their own characters and wrote the beginnings of their very own books! They also took part in the KPMG Children’s Books Ireland Junior Juries, each receiving two shortlisted books to read, review and score - playing an active role in selecting the Children’s Book of the Year in Ireland.

Interview with the Arts Council Director

In celebration of World Children’s Day, panel members Joanne Hession and Jasper Quinlan, interviewed the Director of the Arts Council, Maureen Kennelly. Joanne and Jasper asked insightful questions about Maureen’s love for the arts when she was a child. If she had any other job in the world, what would it be? And questions about what the Arts Council does.

Naming the Children’s Panel

Since the beginning of the Children’s Panel, it has been an aspiration to create their own name. To find something that truly reflects who they are and what they bring to Baboró. With the help of Tom, our Marketing Executive, they set off on an exploration of their values, created mood boards and shared how being part of the panel made them feel.

After much discussion (and a lot of brilliant ideas), the panel landed on the name ‘Birds of Art’! For the panel, Birdie is what represents Baboró and they wanted their name to connect with that while also referencing art and creativity. Once the name was chosen, a shortlist of graphic illustrations were presented and in true panel fashion, they carefully selected their favourite which you can see below!

Children’s Rights Workshop

In May, the Baboró Children's Panel welcomed Thomas Olver from the Ombudsman for Children’s Office for a lively and thought-provoking workshop all about children's rights. Through engaging discussions and hands-on activities, the panel explored what these rights mean in their everyday lives.

One big question stood out during the session - how do they use their rights as members of the Children's Panel? It was a powerful moment of reflection, with each child considering their voice, impact and the role they play in shaping the world around them.

The Right's of Every Child

Given that children’s rights are a topic the Children’s Panel has explored a great deal. With so much turmoil going on in the world, Baboró wanted to make a gesture of solidarity with the thousands of children suffering injustices because of war, famine, the climate emergency, homelessness and displacement by shining a light on the rights that all children should share.

This summer, the panel was asked to share their thoughts on the need for, and importance of, children’s rights. They discussed themes including education, health, a safe place to live, identity, equality, safety and security, expression, play, rest and protection of rights.

The children’s drawings, inspired by these conversations along with recordings of their voices, were used by artists Maisie Lee and Aoife Delany Reid to create this video. The final video is an expression of solidarity by the Children’s Panel with children around Ireland and the world.