Raise Your Game: What is the role of the Children's Commissioner?

Keith Towler: A lot of people describe the Children's Commissioner as the children's champion - somebody who will speak up for children, but the fantastic thing about being the Children's Commissioner is I'm independent of government.

I have to listen to what children/young people say, and the great thing is that other people have to listen to what I say, so it's a really senior role.

It allows me the opportunity to meet children/young people all over the place, listen to the issues that are really important to them, and convince those people who are holding the resources that they need to change the things that they're doing to meet the needs of children.

RYG: How did you come to this role?

KT: From a varied career. I spent a lot of time working with young people in trouble with the law, and did lots of work on children's rights. I've a long record of working with children/young people.

One of the things that people ask me is 'What do you need to be to be a Children's Commissioner?' I think you need to be passionate about children/young people's views but you also need to be pretty articulate, you need to be able to communicate well.

RYG: How does the role affect young people?

KT: I'd like every child and young person in Wales to know that they have rights and entitlements. There's the United National Convention on the Rights of the Child, which every child in Wales should know about, but unfortunately not many children do know about it.

They also need to know that there is a Children's Commissioner, somebody who is prepared to talk out and speak up on issues that affect them, and again unfortunately not many children know about that.

So the way in which this can really help and assist children/young people is a) to know about their rights, and b) to know there's somebody out there who's prepared to listen to what they've got to say if things aren't going well.

RYG: What is your greatest ambition in this role?

KT: The Children's Commissioner for Wales is a seven year appointment. At the moment, one in four children in Wales are living in poverty. A lot of children complain that they don't have enough to do, that they're bored, that they're hanging around the streets, and there's not enough opportunities for play, leisure, sport, or all kinds of cultural activities.

Education is also a big issue for children, and they talk about bullying and access to opportunities. So there's an awful lot to achieve in seven years. I really want to see us make inroads into reducing child poverty, with 25% of our children living in poverty, we've got to do something about that.

RYG: Do you ever feel that the task is so large where will you begin?

KT: No, I think you have to approach this with a really optimistic view. If you sat down and thought of all the sad things that are going on in the world you'd become so depressed that you really wouldn't be able to do anything about it. You've got to be an optimist.

You've got to be able to believe that you can make a difference, and if you can't make a difference, or if you feel you can't make a difference, you're not going to achieve anything, So you've got to be positive. You've got to be striding forward. You've got be listening to what children are saying, and you've got to believe that you can make a difference.

RYG: How would you like to see young people's game raised?

KT: I think sport is just a fantastic thing for children/young people. In terms of raising the game for children, the first point is about access, about having the opportunities, as adults, to make those offers to children.

Because I think it's all very well and good for us to say that children aren't doing enough sport, but are we absolutely clear that we're making them the kind of offers that allows them the choice? 'Yeah I want to do rugby, or yes I want to run around a track, or yes I want to do other things,' but I'm not entirely sure that we're always giving them the choice. We've got to give them the choice and we've got to make the offers.

RYG: So how do we get the voice out there for the voiceless?

KT: It's a really long and complex task. I might be the Children's Champion, but I can't do it on my own, that's why I'm really interested in trying to communicate to adults that we all have a responsibility to listen to children and young people.

There isn't a child in Wales that at their absolute heart doesn't have something that is worth nurturing and building and growing. We can see children/young people really grow and prosper, and that's the way in which we can do something about child poverty and that's the way in which we can get children to start really enjoying their lives.

RYG: Is sport a good vehicle for this then?

KT: Absolutely. I think sport is a fantastic vehicle. It encourages working in a team, it encourages self-esteem, it makes people realise that they're good at something, and it gives them something to look forward to. It makes them healthy and happy.

I want to see children happy. I want to see children with smiles on their faces, and sport is a really good way of doing that, because sport is not the answer for all children, but it's a fantastic opportunity for a lot of our children.

RYG: Were you good at sport in school?

KT: I was in the first 15 at rugby at school. That doesn't mean I was great at sport because one of my enduring memories at school was that we always got beaten, but I was in the first 15, and I loved sport. I loved football, I loved rugby, I loved athletics. I had a go at just about everything I could possibly do.

I really enjoyed outdoor pursuits, like walking up mountains, I loved caving, I loved all of it. I just wanted to get as much of it as I possibly could, whether I was good at it I don't know, but did I enjoy it? I loved it.

RYG: Who were your role models?

KT: Gareth Edwards was probably the greatest scrum-half that Wales has ever had. What a fantastic player and also a great guy. I met him when I was about 16-17-years-old. I remember shaking his hand, and I remember being completely dumbstruck because I couldn't speak to the man. I was so in awe of him, but what a great role model.

RYG: How can we help young people to enjoy and develop their sport?

KT: I think role models and the way in which Welsh sporting heroes can take responsibility for working with children/young people is fantastic.

The other day I was at an awards ceremony and Enzo Maccarinelli was there, former World Boxing Champion and a fantastic guy. I was standing on the platform saying well done to a load of children/young people about things that they've achieved, but they weren't interested in me. They were interested in Enzo Maccarinelli, and who could blame them.

He said fantastic things to them. There were boys and girls there in awe of what this guy had achieved, and he was saying to them 'You can do this and I'm going to take some inspiration from you.' What a fantastic message for children/young people to hear, just truly inspiring.

Enzo's a great communicator. Colin is also a great communicator. I've got a daughter who's 14 years of age who loves Colin Jackson because of Strictly Come Dancing. Is it dance? Is it athletics? Whatever it is he's a great role model.

Children really get inspired by those kind of things, and it's great to see children bashing tennis balls after Wimbledon, we've got to bite on that we've got to do something with it.

RYG: One of our young athletes at the European Cup said that at school she didn't have many friends and wasn't one of those people that was always part of the group. But athletics gave her a sense of self-worth, a self-esteem, and it improved her confidence, and now she's got friends because she's part of a group here. So it's good to get into sport.

KT: Absolutely, it's good to join in with things, to have that social interaction with others and identify with people who have interests like yours. Sport is a really good way of doing that, because if you're a runner or a jumper or a swimmer - or whatever it is you want to do, if you want to get involved in a team sport or whatever it is, it gives you confidence because you're part of something that means something. You also have a shared experience and you'll remember the games.

From my childhood I remember the game when we finally won a game of rugby. Having played for a season and a half, and got thoroughly beaten 60 points to 0, and then suddenly we won a game. It was fantastic. I still feel great about that, and whenever I meet up with those adults now we have a laugh and a joke, and we all remember that game because it was the first game that we won. What a fantastic achievement but it's bonded us for life.