Nine-year-old’s complaint prompts safer Munich intersection

A Munich schoolboy helped make a dangerous intersection safer after raising concerns at a children’s assembly, BR reported. Henry Müller, now 11, said he feels safer crossing the junction of Werdenfelsstraße and Waldfriedhofstraße.

When Henry was nine, he noticed that cars regularly drove through red lights while pedestrians already had a green signal. He submitted a request to the children’s assembly in the Munich district of Sendling-Westpark in 2023.

Günter Keller, chairman of the district committee, investigated Henry’s observation by filming the intersection. Within 15 minutes, he recorded four cars continuing through a red light.

A few months after Henry’s request, officials changed the traffic signals. The safety interval between the cars’ red light and the pedestrians’ green light was extended from three seconds to five. BR described the change as unusual.

Judith Durand of the German Youth Institute said it was important that Henry’s idea had led to a concrete result. Children’s participation should not consist only of asking for their opinions, she said. Children needed to know what they could actually decide or influence; otherwise, it could become token participation.

Research also showed that participation played an important role in children’s development, Durand said. It could help them learn to take responsibility and understand democratic processes.

However, children did not feel sufficiently heard in many situations, according to surveys cited by Durand. Adults sometimes rated children’s opportunities to participate more highly than the children themselves did.

Kinderschutz München also considers participation an important part of its work. The organisation said children and young people should be able to express their views and help shape decisions. This could begin with apparently small matters such as meal planning, the design of rooms or shared rules. Participation required time, trust and clear conditions, while children’s perspectives had to be taken seriously.

The right to participate is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989 and entering into force in Germany in 1992. In Bavaria, participation opportunities are organised through youth work structures in all 96 districts and district-free cities, according to the Bavarian Youth Ring.

Nuremberg has had a children’s rights commission since 1993 and children’s assemblies since 1996. Other cities, including Regensburg and Ebersberg, also have children’s and youth advisory councils.

BR is now seeking children’s wishes and ideas across Bavaria through its campaign BayernsKinder. Children aged three to 13 can submit a heartfelt wish or apply for a special experience at br.de/kinder until October 18. Supporters include Checker Tobi, Alvaro Soler, Felix Neureuther and FC Bayern.

Henry said he was proud that his participation had made a difference and that he now felt safer at the intersection.