Children’s Rights Behind the Walls and Beyond: Report from the Conference at the Palace of the Commonwealth
On Thursday, 18 June 2026, the conference “Children’s Rights Behind the Walls and Beyond – A Shared Responsibility” was held at the Palace of the Commonwealth. The event was organised by the National Library, the Central Board of the Prison Service, and the Polish Section of IBBY. It brought together representatives of public institutions, Prison Service officers, members of the library community, and experts working in the field of children’s rights.
The conference opened with remarks by the Director of the National Library, Dr Tomasz Makowski. The discussion, moderated by Joanna Piekarska, President of the Polish Section of IBBY, featured representatives of public institutions and experts, including Krystyna Lipka-Sztarbałło, author of the book Does a Child Have Rights?; Maria Ejchart, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Justice; Col. Renata Niziołek, Director General of the Prison Service; Dr Monika Mitera, Deputy Director of the National Library; and Julia Konopka-Żołnierczuk, Deputy Director of the National Library.
The conference provided an opportunity to discuss the situation of children whose parents are deprived of liberty, as well as the role of public institutions in building a support system for this particularly vulnerable group. The discussion was especially relevant in the context of the Charter of Rights of Children of Parents Deprived of Liberty, signed on 19 March 2026 by the Ministry of Justice, the Ombudsman for Children, and the Prison Service. The document emphasises the need to protect the rights of children whose parents are serving prison sentences and highlights the importance of creating conditions that support the maintenance of family relationships. Participants also discussed the importance of family bonds, the need to counteract stigmatisation, and the potential role of literature and cultural activities in supporting children experiencing separation from a parent.
An important element of the discussion was the book by Krystyna Lipka-Sztarbałło, which addresses important and timely issues concerning children’s agency and their rights in various social contexts. The publication combines an innovative graphic concept with information about the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, alongside quotations from the works of Janusz Korczak.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to summarise the cooperation between the National Library and the Prison Service, which has been ongoing since 2022. The partnership between the two institutions includes activities aimed at promoting reading within penitentiary institutions, professionalising prison libraries, and using books as educational and rehabilitation tools.
The National Library supports officers responsible for cultural, educational, and library activities in prisons and remand centres by providing training in library management, literature selection, and reading promotion. At the same time, National Library staff benefit from the knowledge and experience of Prison Service specialists in areas related to psychological resilience, communication in difficult situations, stress prevention, and the prevention of professional burnout.
To date, as part of this cooperation, 140 educators responsible for library activities in penitentiary institutions, as well as nearly 200 National Library employees, have received specialist training. The Library also regularly donates publications to prisons and remand centres, thereby enriching the collections of prison libraries.