Child Participation in CSO Forum Proposals and Implications Child Participation (CP) Task Force
Dec 13, 2015
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.
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