Child Participation in CSO Forum

Proposals and Implications

Child Participation (CP) Task Force

BackgroundTask Team on CP was established

following the resolution in the 5th CSO Forum

Comprises of Child Protection Alliance  (Gambia) Youth Net and Counselling (Malawi) Uganda Child Rights NGO Network (UCRNN) Coalition des ONG des Droits de l’Enfant (DRC) Save the Children – Sweden

Task Team met on March 20, 2012 but Save the Children was not present

Types of Participation of Children in CSO Forum

Direct participation where children will be part of the forum and have their inputs in the discussions

Indirect participation where children will be consulted and then their views presented in the forum with a feedback session in their countries

Direct ParticipationAdvantages

Children represent their peers Physical presence and having

immediate feedback from adults

Builds capacity of children and their confidence

Children learn from each other

Visibility of the child at continental level

An opportunity for adults to learn from children

Disadvantages Discussions are in most cases too

technical for children Stigmatisation of children Limited representation Bureaucracy around travelling with

children(getting permission, checks)

‘Facipulation’ – children not speaking their views

Affect the studies of children Different level of participation can

affect the performance of children Creates stardom status amongst

children (risk of children forgetting who they are, at home and at school)

Risk of great bias and manipulation in the selection process

Indirect Participation

Advantages Wider involvement of children

at country level An opportunity for more

meaningful participation Children maintain their status

( avoid the case of being who they are not)

Creates a more conducive environment for participation (no adult intimidation).

Allows children to operate and discuss issues at their own level and in a child-friendly language

Disadvantages

Children are not physically present

No interaction between children and adults

Possibility of their views not being considered.

Proposed Participation Model

Challenges and implicationsTiming and number of CSO Forums (How many

forums do we expect the children to attend, school calendars etc)

National consultations and Theme: The Consultations have to be in line with the theme of the CSO Forum but that raises the challenge of time, because the consultations must be based on the theme of the CSO Forum

Agenda for CSO Forum depends on African Committee of Experts: For meaningful participation of children, the CSO Forum needs to meet and engage the African Committee of Experts once a year to allow for enough time to organise children

Challenges and Implications (2) Selection Criteria for Countries: There is no clear

selection criteria for the Countries to participate in the Child Participation Processes

CSO Capacity in the countries: Inadequate capacity for the CSOs to meaningfully engage children as actors

Resource Constraints: Resource implications to sustain engagement and participation at national level- Financial, human and technical resources. Build alliances and partnership with stakeholders to facilitate child participation

Recommendations for Consideration and Approval

Child participation: The Task force recommends that children should not

be part of the task team considering the educational and other requirements for their participation

Capacity of CSOs to do child participation: CSO Forum should organize a Capacity Building

Sessions for the CSOs on Child Participation to have common understanding

Selection Criteria The Task force recommends that 2 – 3 countries per

region should participate in the first phase considering the resources constraints

Recommendations (2)

Resource Constraints CSO Forum should work with its international

partners to finance national consultations, National Forum and Regional Forum for Children

Theme of the Children Consultations The theme for child consultations should be in line

with the Theme for the Day of the African ChildGuidelines for the Consultations

The Task Force will work on the Guidelines for Participation that will be discussed at various levels

Activities for the Task Force and CSO Management Committee

Development Guidelines on Child ParticipationPresent Guidelines to Management for ApprovalLiaise with Management Committee to organise a regional

capacity building training on CPCapacity Building for the CSOs in Child ParticipationCoordinate integration of Child Protection in the CSO Forum

Discussion National Consultations National Forum Consolidate Country Reports Regional Forum

Child Participation in CSO Forum Evaluation and Documentation of the Child Participation

Process in the CSO Forum

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