Working Meeting within Safe Toys Campaign
On June 22-23, 2017, the Deputies of the Public Defender, Ekaterine Skhiladze and Natia Katsitadze held an information meeting within the framework of the campaign Safe Toys with representatives of NGOs, chemists, psychologists, social workers and administrations of small group homes. The meeting was also attended by members of Safe Toys, an association founded for the cooperation with the Public Defender's campaign.
The importance of safety of toys in the child's personal development, the situation in Georgia and the capabilities of chemical analysis were discussed at the meeting. It was noted that toys, which are called “psyche vitamins” by psychologists, have a greatest importance for the child's mental and physical development, while finding a safe toy represents a great difficulty, since products on the Georgian market are not attached by annotations about the toy material and the selection is based only on prices.
The Public Defender's Office started to study the toy safety regulations and practices in 2016. Important events are planned within the framework of the information campaign Safe Toys in order to advocate the creation of surveillance mechanisms for toy production and toy market, regulate legislative framework and institutional market, define the responsibility of the business sector and raise public awareness.