EU-CORD Child Participation Workshop

Questions, dilemmas, tools, tips and resources identified at the

workshop

Questions and Dilemmas• Good guidelines/checklists on how to ensure child participation at

all stages of the programme cycle?• What to do when child participation legitimises something we

don’t support (e.g. physical punishment)?• Good trainers in respective countries?• Good examples of awareness-raising at partner level?• Do we speak out on child participation in our own contexts?• Is child participation easily promoted where the economy is not a

big issue (i.e. where even the poor have enough food)?• Programmes for, with, by children / children as change agents:

what are criteria for good implementation? When to apply them?• « Effective and genuine participation is time-consuming, costly

and potentially physically and emotionally demanding » – are we ready for this?

• How to select children for participation? Is true representation the most broadly representative group of children, or is it a group of children voted for by other children?

Tools and Tips

• Exchange visits• Sharing good trainers to train partners and staff• Information mechanism on training in Asia/Africa• Come up with lobby issues as a combined/joined

effort• PICD• Child Status Index

• Practical tools for child participation: calendars, mapping, daily activities chart, dream trees, problem trees, child-to-child interviews, songs, drama, focus groups, community walks, consultations, research.

Resources• PRA with children, Praxis, Institute for Participatory Practices. More information:

http://www.praxisindia.org/PRAtopicpacks• Children’s Participation in Decision Making, Inter Agency Working Group on Children’s

Participation. • Beyond Article 12: Essential Readings in Children’s Participation, Knowing Children,

Bangkok. More information: http://www.knowingchildren.org/reading.php• Hear Our Voices! Making Sure Young People’s Voices are Heard, Stop Aids Now,

Amsterdam• Adults First! An organisational training on children’s participation, Henk van Beers,

CRF Cambodia• Children and participation: Research, monitoring and evaluation with children and yo

ung people, Save the Children

• The National Child Participation Guide for Uganda: Creating an Environment for Children to be Heard, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Uganda Child Rights NGO Network and UNICEF

• Reinforcing Child Participation, The Civil Society Forum on the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Save the Children 2012

• www.clarehanbury.com, Clare Hanbury, consultant and specialist in children’s participation

• A World Fit for Children, UN Resolution, 2002• EU Guidelines for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child, EU, 2007• I Have a Voice!

Recommendations for Including Child Participation in European Union Decision-Making, Plan International, 2010

Resources• Participation - Spice it Up!, Save the Children. More information:

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/resources/online-library/participation-%E2%80%94-spice-it

• Children’s Participation in OVC Programming, Save the Children, 2004. More information: http://www.ovcsupport.net/s/library.php?p=7&lc=&lk=orphans+and+other+vulnerable+children&la=0&lo=0

• So you want to consult with children? A toolkit of good practice, Save the Children, 2003

• Participatory Workshops: a sourcebook of 21 sets of ideas and activities, Robert Chambers, Earthscan 2002. More information:

• Children as Partners in Planning: A training resource to support consultation with children, Save the Children 2001. More information: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/resources/online-library/children-partners-planning-training-resource-support-consultation-children

• Stepping Forward: Children and Young People’s Participation in the Development Process, ITDG, 2001. More information: http://www.crin.org/resources/infodetail.asp?ID=1441

• Understanding and Evaluating Children’s Participation: A review of contemporary literature, Plan International, 2003

• Children, participation, projects – how to make it work!, Council of Europe, 2004

• Child Participation, Roots Resources, Tearfund, 2004