SRSG 10 Cases of Child Participation Report 2

When children take the lead:
10 child participation approaches

to tackle violence
When children take the lead:
10 child participation
approaches to tackle violence
Experiences for reporting, preventing, or creating
awareness on Violence Against
Publication produced by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on

Violence against Children 2020
Child Representative Addresses General Assembly Meeting on Children
15-year old Millicent Atieno Orondo, Youth Representative and Chairperson of the Child Participation Committee
of Kenya, addresses a High-Level meeting of the sixty-second session of the General Assembly on the follow-up
to the Outcome of the Special Session on Children “A World Fit for Children +5 (WFFC+5)”.
13 December 2007
United Nations, New York
Photo # 166002
© UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein
© 2020 United Nations

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ii When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence
Contents
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................................................... iv
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................................... V
Child participation today: where we are, and where we are going............................................................................................... Vi
About this report ............................................................................................................................................................................X
Key findings................................................................................................................................................................................... Xii
1. It’s time to talk! Children’s views on children’s work..................................................................................................................1
2. U-Report: Adolescents and youth speak out against bullying.....................................................................................................7
3. Rise Up for Girls: tackling child marriage and gender-based violence in Malawi and Guatemala............................................13
4. Technology Enabled Girl Ambassadors (TEGA) understand the problems girls face.................................................................19
5. International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Intersex Youth & Student Organization (IGLYO):
Activists’ Academy and Inclusive Education Report......................................................................................................................25
6. Yo Opino: children in Chile speak out on the issues that affect them.......................................................................................31
7. Restless Development India: Empowering children and youth against child marriage.............................................................37
8. Restless Development Tanzania: empowering adolescents and youth to break the silence on
sexual reproductive rights and gender-based violence.................................................................................................................43
9. #StandTogether: Organizations in Malaysia encourage child-led solutions to bullying.............................................................49
10. OpiNNA: Children in Mexico speak out on discrimination and they way they are treated.....................................................55
Conclusions and recommendations..............................................................................................................................................58
Reference......................................................................................................................................................................................68
Enf-notes.......................................................................................................................................................................................73
When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence iii
Acknowledgements
This thematic report would not have been possible without the contributions from a wealth of partners – all of
them working to end violence against children. The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General
on Violence against Children (OSRSG-VAC) would like to thank the Government of Chile, Government of Malaysia
and Government of Mexico. Thank you to UNICEF and the U-Report team; and to the following key civil society
partners working regionally and globally: International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Intersex
Youth & Student Organization (IGLYO); It’s Time to talk; Rise Up for Girls, The Girl Effect and its project Technology
Enabled Girl Ambassadors (TEGA); Restless Development India and Tanzania, and Malaysia’s Stand Together.
Finally, we are grateful for the work done by Angela Hawke, Francisco Quesney and Maria Luisa Sotomayor.
iv When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence
Introduction
Two watershed moments in 1989 marked a ‘before and after’ for human history. While the Convention of the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was being adopted by the UN General Assembly, Sir Tim Berners Lee was laying out
his vision of what would later become the World Wide Web (WWW). Today, we can look back on three decades
of efforts to uphold the rights of the child, and on the extraordinary expansion of the Internet. This seems a
good moment to explore how these two dramatic developments have influenced each other to tackle a serious
challenge: violence against children.
The right to participate came into being just as the Internet was being born – a vast phenomenon that would give
the first generation of children to have specific rights an unprecedented opportunity to exercise them. Together,
the UNCRC and the Internet have changed childhood.
At the same time, governments and organizations the world over have embraced the need for child participation
to guide and shape programmes and policies and help prevent or report different forms of violence. The question
is: are governments and organizations keeping up with the pace of change? Are today’s participation models
adapting to the constant evolution of child participation?
This report draws on 10 case studies to examine child participation experiences related to different forms of
violence, spanning initiatives driven by governments, international organizations and civil society. It zooms in on
children’s roles, the methods used, the balance between offline and online, and how each initiative has achieved
its impact. It identifies common elements that make child participation effective for violence prevention,
reporting and awareness, offering concrete recommendations for children’s rights-based organizations.
This analysis of 10 child participation approaches aims to support child rights practitioners in their efforts to
promote effective child participation. The ultimate goal is to unleash the positive power of millions of children
who want to safeguard their right to a world free from violence.
When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence v
Child participation today: where we are,
and were we are going
A new and empowered generation

What we now understand as child-participation has helped us to see children “as active in the process of shaping
their lives, learning and future. They have their own view on their best interests, a growing capacity to make
decisions, the right to speak and the right to be heard.”
The right to participate is a founding principle of the UNCRC, which is now the most widely ratified international
human rights treaty, changing the way children are viewed and treated: “as human beings with a distinct set of
rights instead of as passive objects of care and charity”.
The treaty has changed not only the way in which children are viewed and treated; but also the experience of
childhood itself. Children living in the world today are growing up in an environment that is quite different to the
one in which children grew up before the Convention was drafted.
Participation is also one of the most radical provisions of the UNCRC, as implied by “the so-called ‘participation
articles’, which entitle children to a range of civil rights, including the rights to information, privacy, and freedom
of conscience and assembly”. Their ratification was a groundbreaking moment for children globally, as this was
the first time the world had agreed that children had the right to express their views on matters concerning
them, and to have those views taken seriously by governments, states, authorities and decision-makers. What’s
more, this is an obligation under the legally binding Convention, rather than a ‘nice to have’.
While participation is about expressing a view, influencing decision-making, and achieving change, its definition
should not be limited to these, as the term is widely used to describe different forms of engagement. However,
“despite widespread usage, there remains considerable lack of clarity about what is actually meant by
participation in the context of children’s rights.”
vi When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence
UNICEF and Save the Children define it accurately as, “an ongoing process of children’s expression and active
involvement in decision-making at different levels in matters that concern them. It requires information-sharing and
dialogue between children and adults based on mutual respect, and requires that full consideration of their views
be given, taking into account the child’s age and maturity.” It must also start with children and youth themselves,
“on their own terms, within their own realities and in pursuit of their own visions, dreams, hopes and concerns.
Most of all, authentic and meaningful child participation requires a radical shift in adult thinking and behavior - from
an exclusionary to an inclusionary approach to children and their capabilities.”
But are these definitions of “participation” being realized? Are adults today moving towards an inclusionary
approach to children and their ability to influence a world that remains ‘adult-structured’?
Three decades after the adoption of the UNCRC, its participation articles are starting to show results. Though much
remains to be done to ensure that all children can fulfil their rights and grow up free from violence, every child alive
today has grown up under the umbrella of the UNCRC, and with governments that have a duty to protect, educate
and listen to them.
This generation of children is being raised by the first generation of parents to be brought up after the adoption
of the UNCRC. As a result, today’s children are more aware than any other generation of their rights to express
themselves, to speak, confront, request, argue and associate. “The UNCRC has transformed the way international
development agencies engage with children. Children have become recognized as significant actors within their
families and communities, and as active participants in development, not passive beneficiaries.”
This has resulted in an evolutionary leap: today’s children are not waiting for governments or agencies to open up
spaces for them to participate. Instead they are creating them, and they are making good use of them.
Children in an increasingly digital world

“From the moment hundreds of millions of children enter the world, they are steeped in a steady stream of digital
communication and connection – from the way their medical care is managed and delivered to the online pictures
of their first precious moments.”
The digital revolution has transformed — and will continue to transform — our world in countless aspects, and “as
more and more children go online around the world, it is increasingly changing childhood”. As noted in UNICEF’s
2017 State of the World Children’s report: “youth (aged 15–24) is the most connected age group. Children and
adolescents under 18 years old account for an estimated one third of Internet users; and a growing body of
evidence indicates that children are accessing the Internet at increasingly younger ages”.
Children go online to strengthen friendships, find new friends and to access information; and they are increasingly
part of ‘bedroom culture’. In some countries, 13 to 17-year-olds go online every day, and there is some evidence
that children are going online at even younger ages. Even children as young as 4 or 5 have emoji conversations with
their friends through their parents’ or guardians’ phones. They may not be able to read or write yet, but they can
use Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to express themselves using symbols.
When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence vii
Despite a continuing digital divide (29 per cent of youth worldwide are not online) the number of people who are
online is expected to rise in the years to come with the increase of mobile phone users and internet penetration.
According to the World Bank, in 2016 nearly 70 per cent of the poorest households in developing countries owned
a mobile phone (more than the percentage of households with access to electricity or clean water). By 2025, the
estimated number of unique mobile subscribers will reach 5.9 billion, equivalent to 71 per cent of the world’s
population, with the biggest growth likely to be in access to mobile Internet, driven mostly by developing countries.
Internet connection is likely to become permanent and automatic within 15 years: “Eventually, connectivity will
be constant and streamlined to the point where no individual ‘connection’ is really necessary. Universal Internet is
slowly becoming a reality”.
A survey by the Pew Research Center and Elon University published in 2014 predicts that “information sharing
over the Internet will be so effortlessly interwoven into daily life that it will become invisible, flowing like electricity,
often through machine intermediaries”. In addition, it predicts that “the spread of the Internet will enhance global
connectivity, fostering more positive relationships among societies” and that “political awareness and action will be
facilitated and more peaceful change, and more public uprisings like the Arab Spring will emerge”.
The challenge is how quickly humans and current organizations can respond to a growing phenomenon that has
rapidly become part of childhood, with every Internet projection indicating that children will have more and more
access to the online world in the years to come.
The Internet is increasingly changing the way people relate to the world. While this has been a hot topic in recent
years, one aspect of ICTs in particular needs more attention: ICTs offer children more control, specifically through
apps the people use to meet every day needs.
Before the ‘app outburst’ children had to wait for their favourite show to be on TV and wait to see their friends at
school. Today, however, they can connect with friends whenever they want, regardless of where they are physically.
Similarly, adults use multiple apps for multiple purposes: as personal shoppers; to run errands; order food; book
transport, holidays and restaurants; find out about traffic or the weather; monitor their own health; the list is
endless.
Children are exposed to this adult behaviour, they live in a world where they see adults gain more control over
little things. And these little things add up: children come to understand that people are entitled to more control
over every aspect of their lives.
As a result, a generation of children who have grown up with the right to participate not only has the Internet as
a way to take that right forward, but also an adult digital ecosystem that tells them they are entitled to control
their life. And control is power: the power to influence or direct the course of events. This begs the question:
when agencies, governments and civil society encourage children to participate and influence programmes
and policies, are they taking all of this into account? Because children are, increasingly, expecting some level of
control.
viii When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence
A SHIFTING PARADIGM: MORE POWER TO PARTICIPATE, AND MORE WAYS
TO DO SO
Children today are more empowered to participate and make their voice heard, and have an increasing
opportunity to do so as a result of the digital revolution. They are speaking out, engaging, participating, accessing
information, and confronting adult structures as never before.
Children are no longer depending on adults to open up ‘child-participation spaces’: the space is already there
for them on different Internet forums. “This generation of young people grew up in the era of digital activism –
and digital ‘slacktivism’. Children and adolescents are using social media and digital technology to amplify their
voices and seek solutions to problems affecting their communities. Organized efforts to encourage, cultivate and
channel children’s participation using digital tools are varied and growing in scope”.
This growing power to participate, coupled with the means to do so, is making headlines. For example, in 2009,
aged just 11, Malala Yousafzai wrote a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC Urdu service about her life during
the Taliban occupation of Swat, Pakistan, which encouraged a movement advocating for girls’ rights to education
and won her the 2014 Nobel Prize.
There are so many others: the Chilean students’ movement in 2011; the ‘bucket challenge’ that went viral in
2014 using social media to tell a global audience about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, with over 17 million people
posting videos online; and the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ campaign in Nigeria to reduce the age limit for running
for elected office, which has now turned into a larger global movement. We have seen 16 and 17 year-olds
expressing their disappointment that they could not vote in the UK’s 2016 ‘Brexit’ referendum in 2016; the 2018
March for our Lives campaign, with adolescents organizing one of the biggest youth-led protests in the USA
since the Viet Nam war; and Greta Thunberg mobilizing thousands around climate change. In every case, ICTs
have played – and are playing – a critical role: “The digital is not going to go away. If anything, the changes it is
bringing to everyone’s lives, and the potential for conflicts between children and adults’ rights, and children’s
protection and participation rights, are going to increase and intensify.”
“Children themselves have high aspirations for a world facilitated by digital media, believing the Internet
enhances connection between individuals, communities and cultures, across national and international borders,
and positioning technology as key to promoting a spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality and
friendship among all people, supporting their rights to non-discrimination”.
Certainly, child participation cannot be, should not be, and is not limited to the online sphere. This report will,
therefore, review a number of case studies on child participation in marginalized communities that have a strong
offline focus. Nevertheless, the digital sphere is extremely fertile ground for child participation: a space where
they can to express their views freely in accordance to their age and maturity (UNCRC Article 12); seek, receive
and impart information and ideas of all kinds (Article 13); express their freedom of thought, conscience and
religion (Article 14); and associate (Article 15).
The significance of the Internet for children’s participation is not just about access; it is also about how ICTs
offer new ways to relate to data and information. Shortly after Internet usage became widespread, experts
When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence ix
started to talk about ‘big data’: the large volumes of structured and unstructured data that inundate businesses,
governments and organizations on a daily basis. These are data that can be analyzed and processed. Since the
term was first used in the early 2000s, however, ICTs have evolved to offer more profound access to new levels of
information.
We are moving from ‘big data’ to ‘deep data’: a small amount of richer information that, when used and
leveraged properly, can generate more value than vast amounts of data. For example, videos and audios from
children reporting acts of violence can deliver meaningful insights about their fears. Such strong emotional
content, if analyzed and used properly, can be used to influence programmes and policies at a deeper level.
A large-scale opinion poll, in contrast, will deliver considerable quantitative information. One challenge is to
combine big and deep data when trying to protect children online.
Being online is a form of permanent participation and engagement. Children do not need to wait for adults to
open up ‘child-participation spaces’, because the space is already there: they blog, post, share, like, dislike, alter
their image, take endless selfies with endless filters, do homework, play games, watch videos, share their own
videos, chat, text, talk, access information and data, have conversations, and more.
Organizations working to protect children globally have persistently pointed out the many risks children face
online, including different forms of violence like cyberbullying, cyber predators, and sexual trafficking. These
risks are severe and persistent, and pose enormous challenges for state parties, governments, international
organizations, civil society, parents, teachers, the private sector, and anyone looking to protect children
anywhere. However, the reality is that children are online, and they will continue to be online. The digital world
has no limits for participation, with all the positive and negative implications that entails.
The idea that children should influence the programmes and policies that affect them has been widely accepted
by governments, agencies and organizations: “Children who are silenced cannot challenge violence and abuse
perpetrated against them. The capacity to learn is restricted without the opportunity to question, challenge and
debate. Policy-makers cannot identify the barriers to fulfilling children’s rights if they do not hear from children
about the existence and nature of those barriers”.
But how well are organizations today embedding child participation approaches into their work? How do decision
makers know what children want? Do they enable spaces for children to confront, challenge and question them?
Do children really get to re-shape policies? Are rights-based organizations capitalizing on the tools children
already have (and use) to participate? Are they aware that new citizens will emerge in a few years’ time with new
expectations? Are they aware of this new participation paradigm?
ABOUT THIS REPORT

To answer these questions, we have analyzed 10 child-participation experiences. The aim is to better understand
how rights-based organizations and governments are taking forward child participation to prevent, report, or
create awareness on different forms of violence against children. Our 10 case studies are a mix of initiatives
driven by governments, international organizations, and civil society — all of which have advocacy missions.
x When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence
The case studies were selected to showcase a wide range of initiatives, from various geographic perspectives,
implementing parties, and addressing different forms of violence against children (VAC).
TABLE 1: PARTICIPATION EXPERIENCES
EXPERIENCE GEOGRAPHIC FORM OF VIOLENCE TYPE OF IMPLEMENTING

NATURE AGENCY
It’s time to talk! Global VAC in working children Civil Society
U-Report Global Bullying UN Agency
Multi-country (Malawi
Rise Up GBV and Child Marriage Civil Society
and Guatemala)
Multi-country (Nigeria
TEGA GBV Civil Society
and USA)
IGLYO Regional (Europe) LGBTQI Discrimination Civil Society
Yo Opino Country (Chile) Discrimination Government
Restless Development India Country (India) VAC in working children Civil Society
Restless Development Tanzania Country (Tanzania) GBV / SRHR Civil Society
Government, private sector, UN

Stand Together Country (Malaysia) Bullying
agencies, civil society
OpniNNA Country (Mexico) VAC in working children Government
Interviews were conducted with project-implementing teams to collect relevant information about their process,
methodology, activities, goals, strategies, child involvement, combination of offline and online work and barriers
identified. Special attention was given to children’s roles in the overall course of the experience, to classify the
type (or types) of participation.
We identified different methods for child participation (Figure 1): consultation, opinion polls, mobilization, data
collection, research and advocacy.
FIGURE 1: TYPE OF PARTICIPATION
S UBJEC T ROLE M ET H OD
CONSULTATION
CHILD IDEATED OPINION POLL
MOBILIZATION
YOUTH LED RESEARCH / DATA
ADVOCACY
ADULT IMPLEMENTED TRAINING
When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence xi
For the concluding section of this report, we applied additional participation theory — specifically, the UK
Department for International Development’s (DFID) “three-lens approach to youth participation’ adapted from
the World Bank Development Report 2007.” According to this approach: “Youth participation can be viewed
through three lenses: with youth as beneficiaries; with youth as partners and/or with youth as leaders.” In place
of youth, the concept was adapted to children.
After individual interviews for each participation experience, case studies were structured to cover the following
information:
• Its purpose
• The form of violence it aimed to address
• How children, adolescents and/or youth were involved and their roles at different stages of the process
(leading versus passive, for example)
• The level of knowledge the implementing entity already had about participating children
• The implementing entity’s strategy to connect to children’s ecosystems
• How the implementing entity engaged children, and which outreach strategies they used
• The usage of ICTs: were they designed specifically for the initiatives, or were they built on existing software
or social networks?
• The impact of the participation on the form of violence to be addressed
• The continued participation or engagement of children after the initiative
• And the barriers and challenges identified.
Each case study was finalized by identifying the key takeaways for this report, aiming to compile key findings that
should be considered when using participation to prevent or report different forms of violence.
KEY FINDINGS
Our analysis of the 10 case studies suggests that those that were most successful gave children significant roles
as designers and leaders, encouraged them to identify the issues that affected them, and were based on peer-to-
peer approaches. These projects generated concrete achievements, and children continued to engage, even after
the projects had ended.
xii When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence
Seven key conclusions and recommendations emerge from our analysis.
1. The child participation paradigm is evolving from “let’s hear what children have to say”, to “let’s enable
children to identify problems, make decisions, challenge others when necessary, and mobilize a range of
partners, from decision makers to their own peers.”
Recommendation: Adults need to share or even transfer power to children, understanding that this does not
exempt them from their responsibility to protect and guide children in the process.
2. Children need to lead. It is not enough to be involved. Our case studies find that few organizations assigned
a leading role to children; they were either partners or beneficiaries.
Recommendation: Organizations need to include children at the earliest possible stage and trust them with
leading roles so that child participation becomes part of the ‘fabric’ of the programme.
3. Children need to be encouraged to identify the issues they want to address. Most of the implementing
organizations came to the project with a ready-made agenda for change, and invited children to join them.
Recommendation: Adults need to connect to children’s personal motivations for achieving change and
should limit their own role to facilitation and the provision of information and tools.
4. Children trust other children, and most participation experiences benefit from peer-to-peer approaches.
Children are more inclined to participate when approached by someone who is – or close to – their own age.
Recommendation: If adults are to create effective peer-to-peer approaches, they need to trust children.
They must treat them as partners with a collective advocacy purpose.
5. Children often continue to participate after the project has ended. Some of the examples in our case
studies planned for this.
Recommendation: A comprehensive child participation model should, ultimately, be an empowering tool
and experience, and should not end when children have provided adults with what they want. Organizations
should aim for – and plan for – extended engagement.
6. Only a few of the experiences we analyze in this report have made the best possible use of ICTs. Many
initiatives incorporated ICTs or technological elements, but only a minority made the most of their additional
benefits, and most relied on offline strategies
Recommendation: We need to adapt to – and mobilize – the technological revolution for child participation.
Incorporating ICTs is crucial and implementing organizations should explore the benefits of ICTs beyond their
value for quantitative data collection.
7. The initiatives analyzed in this report apply and respect standards for child participation practice in
general. Yet initiatives with a strong ICT component require additional standards applied when planning and
implementing child participation.
Recommendation: Child participation models need to evolve in step with children’s realities, so that they
can respond appropriately to children’s growing expectations in a digital age. A digital generation requires
strong digital standards.
When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence xiii
xiv When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence
CASE STUDY 1
xv When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence
©UN photo/Amanda Voisard

1. It’s Time to Talk! - children’s views on
children’s work
In collaboration with more than 50 non-governmental organizations, Kindernothilfe, Terre

des hommes Germany, and Save the Children Canada, (Consortium Steering Committee)
asked 1,822 working children from 36 countries to share their views on children’s work.
WHY: To integrate the views of working -making processes that affect them. To this end, the
children into the political debate initiative created a neutral space where non-organized
Globally, 218 million children aged between 5 and and organized working children could share their
17 years are employed. Not all work by children is reasons and motivations to work, their views on
considered child labour, which is often defined as what they like and do not like about their work, and
“work that deprives children of their childhood, their their messages to concerned stakeholders on how to
potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to improve policies and practices to defend their rights
physical and mental development.” Some 70 per cent and best interests.
of working children, a total of 152 million children
(64 million girls and 88 million boys) are involved in
child labour globally, accounting for almost one in ten WHAT: Consultation with working children
children worldwide. Almost half of them (73 million) in 36 countries
are in hazardous work. During this 2.5-year project, 1,822 working children
aged 5 to 18 from 36 countries were consulted on
Even though organized working children have, their views and experiences of children’s work, which
historically, demanded their right to participation and were then documented in a report. To support this
association, their views and suggestions have not been process, 17 Children’s Advisory Committees (CACs)
fully integrated into the political debate on labour. The of working children were established in Asia, Africa,
implementing organizations for this project, It’s Time Latin America, the Middle East and Europe, enabling
to Talk!, “agreed that the topic of child labour could working children to take an active role in different
be more adequately discussed and addressed by the stages of the process as advisers, analysts, and
global policy debate if working children themselves advocates.
could integrate their voices and expertise”.
While adults initiated the project idea and its
The advocacy goal was to increase opportunities for development, children gained more influence during
the views of working children to be heard in decision the subsequent stages —specifically during the
When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence 1
implementation phase, which included collaborative The resources used by working children during the
adult-child participation and child-led advocacy and project were mostly offline, and included toolkits
campaigning. for guidance in research, media, communications
and child safeguarding. Online resources were used
The existing level of knowledge about the engaged for training webinars and to share documentation
communities and the connection with the children’s of the process. Nevertheless, some CAC members
ecosystem were both high, as the implementing exceeded project expectations by using social media
agencies acted through local NGOs and partners, who to disseminate results and training resources among
also communicated with parents and caregivers. In their peers, so that others could also benefit from
addition, national exchange meetings were organized their materials and experience.
collaboratively between working children to share
their experiences and priority messages as a way to Regarding outreach strategies, the implementing
influence policy makers. organizations invited participants to use established
partnerships with local civil society organizations that
HOW: Consultations, collaborative already had direct contact with working children or
participation and child-led activities connections to existing networks and associations of
Mixed methods were used to encourage child working children.
participation. In all, 134 consultations took place in
the form of focus group discussions, participatory RESULTS: Violence stops children fulfilling
activities and individual interviews. Child-led activities their aspirations
created a space and an opportunity for children in a The project report unpacks findings around multiple
few countries to plan and initiate their own actions, issues that affect working children, such as protection
and to advocate for themselves on issues that and risks factors, and delivers their messages to
affected them. governments, caregivers, NGOs, and others related
actors. They felt that violence and the hardships
In addition, more than 200 children aged 9 to 18 they experience while working hindered them from
were actively involved in CACs in the framework fulfilling their aspirations. They also emphasized the
of collaborative adult-child participation, where need for improved policies and practices, including
they had leading roles and decision-making power. those to reduce family poverty, prevent and protect
They participated in the research and consultation children from violence and exploitation, and involve
process by drawing on their expertise and insights working children in the decisions that affect them.
and acting as advisers, analysts, and advocates. CAC
members met between three and seven times each The results of this participation revealed that working
year (varying by country) and had a high level of children are affected by diverse risk and protective
responsibility and power. factors at individual, family, workplace, community,
society and policy levels. The project report indicated
The project collected quantitative data through that working girls and boys are often scolded or
individual interviews. Participatory research tools insulted by their employers, parents, caregivers
included drawings, body mapping, flower diagrams, or members of the general public, and that some
games, matrices, stories and songs. The results were children experience physical punishment if they do
collected and then coded to transform them into data. not complete their assigned tasks or make mistakes.
It also cited violence in schools as a reason for
2 When children take the lead: 10 child participation approaches to tackle violence
©Fara Zahri
children dropping out of education. Finally, the report and consideration of the views of working children.
stressed that girls face increased risks of sexual
harassment, and that both girls and boys are exposed It’s Time to Talk! resulted in extended and
to violence (physical, emotional and sexual) when unanticipated participation, with the subsequent
working on the streets. engagement of children in advocacy activities. For
example, CACs that built upon existing working
ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: Advocacy children’s associations have continued to meet since
and stronger engagement the project’s conclusion. In addition, some of the
Findings from the main report were presented at CACs that were established specifically for It’s Time
a side event in the IV Global Conference on the to Talk! have now become ongoing structures, with
Sustained Eradication of Child Labour in Argentina, working children continuing to participate actively
in November 2017. Key findings were also presented in advocacy about the issues that affect them. The
by two representatives of the working children at the CAC for Indonesia, for example, continues to be used
Global Child Forum conference on children’s rights by working children as a structure around which to
and business in Stockholm, in April 2018. Ongoing meet, organize and plan actions in Medan City.
efforts are still underway to organize meetings
between the International Labour Organization and In addition, the representatives of working children
working children’s representatives, meaning that had interactions with municipal authorities and
the project could continue to produce results. The local officials through the project, resulting in
experience has encouraged local, national and global commitments to more regular consultation with
advocacy activities, including collaborative and child- working children and their greater involvement in
led advocacy to enhance recognition, understanding relevant practice and policy developments. Working
children’s representatives from Medan were also children if they think children may make suggestions
invited to speak at a national event with businesses that they do not agree with. This contributes to
involved in palm oil production to share their views children’s limited power in political debates affecting
on how to better protect working children and them.
support better livelihoods for families.
KEY TAKEAWAYS: Give children decision-
CHALLENGES: Non-biased communication making power
with children and sharing power It’s Time to Talk! stands out for its collaborative
Organizers note that, while consultations create and partner-like relationship between adults and
important opportunities to seek children’s views participating children. The project granted CAC
and experiences, they are influenced by the quality members a very high level of responsibility and
of facilitation, including the values and skills of the decision-making power, which has shaped the ways
facilitators. Non-biased communication with children in which they have continued to participate since the
remains a challenge to independent facilitation. In project ended. The adults involved truly transferred
addition, children’s perspectives and opinions on power to the children, who were included at the
their working lives may have been influenced by earliest stage possible.
prior exposure to local NGO interventions and the
philosophy and values of adult staff members. Organizing bodies also motivated CAC members
from different countries to meet and exchange
The project organizers also identified barriers to their experiences, enriching their perspective and
sharing power with children, noting that adults the overall process. Working children were also
are less willing to support genuine participation of supported to draw upon their own experiences:
©UN photo/Mark Garten
adults encouraged them to reflect upon their
problems and surroundings, and respected and
trusted the personal motivations of each child to
participate.
CASE STUDY 2
©Karel Prinsloo
2. U-Report: adolescents and youth
speak out against bullying
In 2016, over 100,000 children from more than 20 countries shared their experiences on
bullying through U-Report, a real-time data collection and communication programme
run by UNICEF and partners. Findings revealed that two in every three children had been
victims of bullying.
WHY: Including children’s views in the In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly
report on bullying by the United Nations requested a report from the Secretary-General on
Secretary-General “Protecting children from bullying” to be presented
As well as having the right to say what they think and to the General Assembly in 2016, as part of a broader
have their opinions taken into account, children and agenda to end all forms of violence against children.
young people can also provide valuable information, The views and experiences of children were to form a
reporting in real time on what is happening in their key element of the report.
communities. U-Report offers a forum to amplify the
voices of young people through local and national The goal of this participation experience was to
media; provides real-time alerts to key stakeholders ensure that the voices of adolescents and youth were
about the needs of young people; and feeds back included in this report by asking them for their views
ideas and information to participants (U-Reporters), on the causes of bullying and for possible solutions.
empowering them to work for change and drive
improvements in their local area and beyond. WHAT: Open-source messaging platform for
community participation
While U-Report can be used to address any issue that Managed by UNICEF and partners, U-Report is a free
affects children and youth, UNICEF and its partners open-source messaging programme for community
use it as a youth-led tool to collect quantifiable data participation. It is a real-time data collection and
on specific issues (such as health, education, violence communication platform for children, adolescents
and emergencies, among others) that impact the most and youth, and, as of July 2018, was live in over
vulnerable, as well as any other issues U-Reporters 45 countries. There is also a global version, where
want to address. The information is then shared with adolescents and youth can register from anywhere in
young people, the general public and policy makers to the world. Through U-Report, UNICEF and the Special
raise awareness and leverage the voice and concerns Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence
of young people and adolescents on issues that affect Against Children (SRSG-VAC), conducted an opinion
them. poll in 2016 focused on bullying that generated
responses from 107,561 adolescents and youth,
©UN photo/Eric kanalstein
almost 94 per cent of whom were from sub-Saharan the profile information provided. Not all profile
Africa. information is available, however, because (as noted)
young people can choose to remain anonymous.
HOW: Real-time communication via
different channels UNICEF and its partners use the collected data to get
U-Reporters are adolescents and youth who are feedback on programmes and inform local or national
between 13 and 24 years of age (approximately), policies. The programme is free for participants,
from different parts of the world. They choose to and U-Reporters can send and receive messages at
join U-Report by texting a message to one of its any time about issues they’d like to discuss. Given
available channels in their respective country (e.g. that U-Report is a two-way communication channel,
SMS, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Viber, and other U-Reporters can also suggest topics for future polls.
Internet-based channels), and then register by
providing their age, gender and location. However, Each country’s U-Report programme runs
this information is not a requirement for becoming a autonomously through its UNICEF Country Offices
U-Reporter, and participants can remain completely and local partners, and is governed by a steering
anonymous. When profile information is provided, committee that includes UNICEF, at least one NGO or
however, it is used to categorize replies. youth organization and often a government partner,
as well as U-Reporters themselves.
U-Reporters receive weekly questions on various
issues, either open-ended or multiple-choice. The Reporters suggest issues for polls, use U-Report
Poll results are displayed on a country website in data for their own advocacy goals, and advise on the
real time, and each question is disaggregated by language used. Each country’s version adapts this
approach to its context, so while the extent of youth The bullying-focused U-Report opinion poll was an
engagement varies, they are always involved. adult idea, implemented by adults, with questions
suggested by the SRSG-VAC. While young people
Similarly, the way in which the programme connects did not design the poll or lead the engagement,
with young people’s ecosystems, its promotion and U-Report’s model encourages country programmes
its registration process are, in general, determined to consult youth on poll questions, so that they
by partnering with youth, youth associations, and can suggest ways to ask them in a manner that will
NGOs through social mobilization on the ground. resonate with their peers.
U-Reporters themselves often invite their peers to
join the programme, with traditional and social media RESULTS: Two in every three U-Reporters
used to support this outreach. have been victims of bullying
Results were collected from more than 20 countries
Occasionally, the same opinion poll is coordinated and revealed that two thirds of participants have
throughout multiple U-Report countries where experienced bullying firsthand, and nearly nine in
UNICEF identifies an issue that may be relevant ten believe bullying is a problem, confirming the
across borders, as was the case for the poll on urgent need to address this form of violence. Given
bullying. The steering committees within each the voluntary nature of the programme however,
UNICEF Country Office opt in or out of these global U-Report is not a random sample, and results should
opportunities, based on their own criteria. not be considered as representative. High figures
could indicate that U-Reporters are particularly
U-Report’s model suggests a combination of both interested in this issue because of their own
offline and online approaches. Information is experiences.
collected via online and text-based means, but
U-Reporters in many countries are engaged via offline One quarter of the children and young people who
strategies such as clubs, workshops and other events. responded feel they have been bullied because
of their gender or sexual orientation; almost one
ICTs are, nevertheless, a crucial part of the quarter because of their ethnicity or national origin;
programme, as U-Report is developed on RapidPro, one quarter because of their physical appearance,
an open-source software. RapidPro allows for mass - and a little over one quarter for other reasons; Over
message communication and real-time data analytics one third of victims of bullying told a friend or sibling;
via numerous channels including SMS, Facebook, one third told no one (until they told U-Report in
Twitter and others. It is this technology that enables this poll); less than one third told an adult, and less
the programme’s implementation. than one in ten told a teacher. In all, 31 per cent of
U-Reporters did not tell anyone because they thought
U-Report opinion polls are not isolated events, given bullying was ‘normal’.
that young people join the programme to answer
questions or messages on a weekly or bi-weekly Their understanding of why bullying happens was
basis. One crucial goal is to keep U-Reporters involved also evenly distributed, with about one quarter
on a continuing basis, providing a safe space for them believing that it occurs because adults do not see it,
to engage with their communities and contribute to because kids are mean, or because it is part of school
U-Report actions. (or they do not know why it happens). Finally, over
eight in ten children and young people believe they
need to be part of the solution by raising awareness programmes and policies for children at national
and addressing bullying in school. level. U-Report Ukraine’s poll results, for example,
revealed that only 4 per cent of U-Reporters turned
These findings were shared with participants, as to their teachers when they were victims of bullying,
one of the programme’s engagement strategies is to and that 56 per cent believed schools should provide
always report back to U-Reporters on results and the better training to teachers to stop bullying. These
use of data, in the belief that children need to know findings encouraged UNICEF Ukraine to plan and
how they are influencing change and improving the activate an anti-bullying campaign in Ukrainian
lives of their peers. schools to reduce violence among children.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: bullying CHALLENGES: A single data system, and the
is amongst children’s top concerns risks of inconsistent language
One major achievement of the U-Report poll was the The main barrier identified is the manual
inclusion of the views of participants in the report consolidation of global poll results, as UNICEF lacks
on bullying presented by the UN Secretary General. a data system that compiles results beyond country
As part of the broader agenda for ending all forms of level.
violence against children, the voices of adolescents
and youth helped to demonstrate how urgent it is for In addition, U-Report sends the same opinion poll
UN Member States to take action against bullying. across all of its country programmes, yet country
teams may adapt the wording with young people
Recommendations on how to address and prevent to fit the local context. It is important to make sure
bullying were presented to the General Assembly in that the polls’ meaning, content and purpose are
the report Protecting children from bullying, which not altered in this process, so that the results can be
included U-Report poll results. The poll findings combined to present a global picture.
helped to confirm that bullying is one of children’s
top concerns and exposed the groups at heightened KEY TAKEAWAYS: Real-time data for
risk. They revealed a major gap in perceptions achieving change
between children and adults, with bullying often One of U-Report’s main takeaways is that the
being invisible to teachers, for example. They also programme works in real time, publishing results on
reinforced the need for ongoing child participation a public website as they come in. This is extremely
at the heart of these efforts, as “they must be powerful for redirecting programmes and policies,
empowered and given the skills and confidence to and for being able to respond to children’s requests
stand up against bullying and seek help.” immediately. As children respond to polls, they can
see that other U-Reporters are also responding
The most alarming finding – two in every three reinforcing a sense of community and online peer-to-
children being the victims of bullying – was also used peer engagement. Adolescents and youth get to feel
by UNICEF to raise awareness on International Youth part of a digital community that is trying to achieve
Day 2016 as part of its End Violence campaign. positive change. So, the programme empowers
U-Reporters while being data driven. In addition,
Participation outcomes are strongly connected to the real-time data functionality of the programme
activities that may be unusual in some U-Report adds great value for emergency response, and for
countries, such as the use of data to influence reporting different forms of violence.
U-report also stands out for being an up-to-date use Above all, U-Reporters engage directly with others. In
of ICTs, with this open-source programme constantly this way, the online sphere of U-Report mirrors many
adapting to new channels and avoiding obsolescence. of the offline advantages of communication, while
The technology has been designed according to also collecting valuable data to improve programmes
UNICEF’s Principles for Innovation and Technology in and policies.
Development to meet today’s digital standards.
UNICEF also encourages country versions to include

youth organizations in U-Report steering committees
aiming to include young people as much as possible.
So, this is a tool by youth, for youth. Its two-way
communication is also noteworthy: U-Reporters get
to respond to opinion polls, but they can send the
programme a message whenever they want. In some
countries, U-Report provides real-time counseling
through partner organizations via text on a wide
range of issues.
CASE STUDY 3
©Chim Chisiza
3. Rise Up for Girls: Tackling child
marriage and gender-based violence in
Malawi and Guatemala
Rise Up enables girls, youth and women to identify their own problems so they can lead
potential solutions through their own advocacy and mobilization strategies. In Malawi,
young girls helped change national legislation by uniting their voices to outlaw child
marriage and other forms of sexual violence. In Guatemala, a group of girls led the process
of creating a national violence observatory centre to report cases of violence against girls
and women. Rise Up’s local partner organizations are the Girls’ Empowerment Network
(GENET) in Malawi, and Asociación Renacimiento in Guatemala.
WHY: Protecting girls in Malawi and Rise Up believes that when girls can raise their voices
Guatemala from child marriage and and advocate for improved laws and policies and their
violence implementation on the issues they prioritize, they help
Guatemala has one of the highest rates of pregnancy to highlight their own needs and position their voices
in girls aged 10 to 14 in Latin America: a direct at the centre of possible solutions. The Rise Up model
consequence of sexual violence. According to official enables adolescent girl leaders to drive sustainable
data from the country’s National Statistics Institute, change and tackle the legal, cultural, and structural
more than 74,000 babies were born to adolescent obstacles that contribute to their high rates of forced
mothers in 2018, including 2,000 who were conceived marriage, early pregnancy, school dropout, gender-
as a result of the rape of girls under the age of 14. based violence and pervasive poverty.
Malawi is one of the countries with the highest levels WHAT: Banning traditional practices and
of child marriage: almost half of all girls are married protecting girls from violence
before the age of 18, putting them at greater risk of In both countries, local adult leaders and their
dropping out of school, domestic violence and the organizations helped adolescent girls identify the
potentially life-threatening health consequences of issues they saw as the most urgent and supported
early pregnancy. The country’s landmark legislation, them with relevant information to help them pursue
which bans child marriage, ensures that 2 million girls their advocacy goals.
in the country can finish school, lift themselves out of
poverty and marry when they want. Yet so much more In 2015, young Malawian girls (aged 10 to 18)
needs to be done. advocated successfully for a change in national
legislation to outlaw child marriage, banning this
harmful traditional practice against girls in 184 to go through an intense capacity building training
communities. Today, 650 trained girl leaders are programme on leadership development, mental
mobilizing over 10,000 young girls to advocate for an health, public speaking, sexual violence, gender
end to child marriage on the ground. Their strategy issues, advocacy and human rights.
is based on working directly with village chiefs and
traditional authorities to find local solutions together, Typically, this training programme consists of 12
so that the national law has a local impact by sessions over six months. Girl leaders first reflect
dissolving early marriages or setting up reporting and upon their own lives and their surroundings, and
enforcement systems. then map out their problems, identifying those that
are the most pressing in their lives. Initial sessions
In Guatemala, a group of 30 young girls (also aged focus on understanding the context, environment,
10 to 18) led advocacy efforts for the creation of and the root causes of these problems. The training
a municipal-level watchdog group to ensure the encourages girls to find and focus on their objectives
adequate reporting of – and response to – cases and identify the political changes that could help
of sexual violence cases against girls and women, resolve an issue, starting from its root cause. Girl
referring them to legal, psychological and medical leaders are active participants in planning their
help. These girls were trained on a Sexual Violence advocacy strategies and creating a work plan to
Protocol and, in turn, trained 150 more girls to engage and convince other girls, as well as decision
identify, respond to and support survivors, and to makers, local politicians, council members and
prevent sexual violence in their communities. They others.
investigated local violence rates using official facts
and statistics to encourage decision-makers to After the training, girls go back to their communities,
approve a violence observatory centre. Consequently, advocate directly with decision makers and mobilize
they helped to train local authorities, teachers and other girls. From then onwards, their model is built
parents on gender-based violence and effective on girl-centred advocacy and mobilization, and a
responses to sexual violence. peer-to-peer approach.
HOW: Child-created, led and implemented Rise Up’s adult leaders and their partner
mobilization and advocacy organizations know a great deal about the girl
Children were involved as leaders and decision- participants. Indeed, connection with the girls’
makers at every step of this process. In both ecosystem is a critical aspect of their model,
countries, adolescent girls identified the problems given that the girls’ training encourages them to
to address, helped to devise advocacy strategies, reflect upon their context, reality, community and
and later implemented them with the support of surroundings. It is understood that participation
their adult allies. Between 25 and 30 girl leaders per and advocacy strategies will vary depending on local
country either took the lead or participated in the context, and that the girls themselves are the ones
advocacy planning and implementation stage. who best understand that.
Rise Up’s model is to partner with, and build the The peer-to-peer approach is critical. Rise Up’s
capacity of, local organizations around girl-centred partner organizations first engage girl leaders,
advocacy. The local partners develop a girl-centred who then become the main entry point for new
or girl-led advocacy strategy and invite young girls participants. The precise engagement strategies used
will depend on their creativity, but some of the most makers to bring them closer to the problems the girls
common are posters, marches, community theatre, face on a daily basis.
puppet shows, speaking at school assemblies and
community meetings, and the innovative use of social In this case, there is no need to share the
media, such as Whatsapp and SMS. participation results with the girls: instead, the girls
share their results with adults and other girls and
In both Malawi and Guatemala, the resources used youth in their communities. Girls also evaluate their
most often for participation are offline, given the own work, as their training encourages them to
rural contexts and the lack of access to technology. appraise their achievements and processes, with the
Where the usage rate justifies it, girls will use participation of the community. They are the ones
Facebook and Whatsapp to communicate with and who debrief, and they extract lessons learned that
mobilize others. can be applied to future community mobilization and
advocacy efforts.
RESULTS: Girls’ stories are the main source
of data ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: Banning
The data collected include a blend of qualitative harmful traditional practices and protecting
and quantitative information. In both countries, girls from violence
girls realized that their own experiences — or the Both experiences had clear advocacy goals: banning
experiences of other girls they knew — were also child marriage in Malawi and activating reporting
their most powerful source of data. As a result, one and referral mechanisms for young victims of
of the most frequently used strategies was based on gender-based violence in Guatemala. Not only have
sharing their stories and experiences with decision these projects resulted in important achievements
©UN photo/Loey Felipe
from both participation experiences, but they have The Rise Up! experiences from Malawi and
also enabled girls to be invited to, and involved in, Guatemala have shown outstanding participation
decision-making spaces. In Malawi, girls lobbied outcomes, considering that – on average – most
directly with Members of Parliament, and in girls continue to engage in activism for at least three
Guatemala girls advocated directly with traditional years after completing the initial training. Girl leaders
and elected community leaders and decision makers; continue to advocate with and engage other girls
the Guatemalan participants were also invited to to ensure that the laws, policies or programmes
participate in their local ‘protection network’ or they helped to create are implemented and funded,
community sexual violence watchdog groups. and that the impact reaches the most marginalized
members of their communities.
By using their stories to engage decision makers
and other adult stakeholders, girls in Guatemala CHALLENGES: Sharing power and being
achieved the creation of two violence observatory taken seriously
centres in San Juan Comalapa and San Martín The main barrier to girls achieving change is the
Jilotepeque, where 700 adolescent girls and over difficulty in convincing adults to share power spaces
1,000 women have been protected after reporting where girls can participate in decision-making
different forms of violence. In Malawi, 184 villages processes. Girls have also pointed out that their
have banned harmful traditional practices, including opinions are not always taken seriously by authorities
child marriage, thanks in part to the advocacy efforts because of patriarchal and adult-centric practices,
of the girls. and that they are occasionally threatened and
harassed by older women, men and boys in their
communities.
©UN photo/Manuel Elias
©JC McIIwaine
KEY TAKEAWAYS: Girls lead, decide and The training delivered by adults is thorough and
mobilize comprehensive, and it understands the different
areas of information girls need. It also displays
Rise Up’s model stands out for enabling girls to be understanding of the role adults need to play in such
the ultimate designers and leaders of their advocacy forms of participation: that of guiding and protecting
goals. The implementing organizations invest time girls throughout their process.
and resources in encouraging girls to reflect upon
their ecosystems and identify for themselves the Finally, the model stands out for using girls’
issues of greatest importance for them and their experiences as the main source of data for
peers. Both Rise Up and their partner organizations approaching authorities. It recognizes that
understand the value of identifying the drive and quantitative data need to be complimented by
motivation for participation, and, most importantly, qualitative, deep information with a strong emotional
transferring power and control to children and content to bridge the relationship between decision
adolescents so they can take the lead and become makers and adolescent girls.
agents of change within their own lives.
The model also relies strongly on a peer-to-peer

approach, understanding that only girls can transmit
that level of stimulation to other girls. Rise Up truly
empowers girl leaders so they can, in turn, empower
their peers.
CASE STUDY 4
©JC McIIwaine
4. TEGA: Technology Enabled Girl
Ambassadors understand the problems
girls are facing today
Technology Enabled Girls Ambassadors (TEGA) is an innovative, participatory approach

to youth participation created by the NGO Girl Effect. Girls use mobile devices to interview
their peers and community members, collecting video, audio and survey data. In 2016,
TEGA was mobilized to find out more about the lives of internally displaced girls and
women in Nigeria, and in 2017 to collect information about girls and boys in Saginaw,
Michigan, USA.
WHY: A girl will only really open up to her background and the culture in which she lives
another girl than to an adult stranger who does not share
To drive meaningful change, accurate data and her experience. To tackle the data gap on this
insights are required to understand challenges and demographic, Girl Effect began to train young
inform programmes. Conventional research methods, women aged 18-24 (and then younger girls) living
however, can have serious limitations — they can, for within communities in Nigeria and the United States
example, be slow, expensive and intimidating. Girl to become qualified researchers and Technology
Effect perceived that traditional research approaches Enabled Girl Ambassadors (TEGAs). The organization
focused on the Global South are sometimes taught trainees how to interview and collect valuable
intrusive and, consequently, do not always gather information from other girls in their communities.
honest responses from a very specific demographic: They assumed that girls would open up to them and
adolescent girls. It is common for men to speak share their stories. They were right.
for their households, and not allow women to talk
privately with researchers. This leads to biased Insights collected by TEGAs help organizations better
responses and girls being silenced on the very issues understand the reality of girls’ lives and, therefore,
that most affect them. For Girl Effect, adolescent girls implement programmes that are better designed,
can be the most difficult demographic to reach in the more targeted and that have substantive impacts.
world.
In 2016, displaced girls and women in Borno
The TEGA initiative is based on the understanding State, Nigeria were in desperate need of livelihood
that an adolescent girl is more likely to feel assistance. Many had fled from violence in
comfortable and speak truthfully about her life their home villages, and often faced abuse and
to another girl like her. She is more inclined to extreme poverty in camps and host communities.
respond openly to someone who understands Humanitarian agencies were unable to gauge
the extent of gender-based violence in the host There are now two types of TEGAs. The first type
communities, and women and girls rarely opened up constitutes a growing community of nearly 400
about their experiences during research. To tackle female field researchers, aged 18 to 24, from
this, Girl Effect was approached by Oxfam to gain Bangladesh, India, Malawi and Rwanda, as well
insights that would improve their humanitarian Nigeria and the United States, who come from
support services to women and girls displaced by marginalized and vulnerable backgrounds and
violence. interview other girls and boys. The second type of
TEGAs, known as ‘Selfie TEGAs’, are younger girls,
In addition, Girl Effect wanted to pilot the TEGA aged 15 to 17, who self-report qualitative data from
process and method in the United States context, their smartphones by interviewing their families and
specifically in Saginaw, Michigan, where there were closest communities. There is currently one network
high levels of joblessness, crime and gender-based of 114 Selfie TEGAs in Nigeria.
violence. According to the FBI, Saginaw was declared
the most dangerous city in the United States for TEGAs and Selfie TEGAs live in communities where
women to live and, in 2012, the city experienced gender-based violence has a critical impact on both
the highest number of rapes per capita in the girls and women — communities where sexual
country. The TEGA-led research aimed to gain a new assault, physical violence and child marriage are
perspective on the city’s high violence rates and help commonplace.
improve programmes and policies to protect girls and
boys from that violence. In 2016, TEGAs in Northern Nigeria interviewed
both internally displaced and resident girls in host
WHAT: Mobile-based, girl-operated re-
communities in Maiduguri. The themes explored
search, with girls collecting data from other
included safety and gender-based violence. In 2017,
girls
TEGAs conducted participatory research in Saginaw,
This initiative is a mobile-based, girl-operated Michigan. The research provided valuable insights on
research methodology designed to provide authentic violence and poverty, among other topics.
insights from marginalized communities. It is
HOW: Technology designed by and for girls
designed by adults and youth, but, youth and child
led, with girl-implemented data collection. Girl Effect’s model works through partnership with
a local organization and calls for the training of
TEGAs use a specially designed app to interview marginalized and non-economically empowered
and survey their peers and community members, girls from the community. The underpinning design
collecting qualitative and quantitative information principle is that any girl can become a TEGA, and the
from girls and their communities. It is based on the only requirement for participation is literacy. Girls
simple premise that a girl will probably open up to participate in an initial week-long training workshop,
another girl. The programme was co-designed with followed by three months of vigorous capacity
the TEGAs, who made sure that both the technology building, which includes conducting interviews within
and its user experience were built by girls, for girls. their communities using the programme app, regular
This meant that their decision-making role was refresher training, and completing assignments at
just as important as that of the organizations’ staff home. At the end of their capacity building, TEGAs
members. can become certified researchers with a qualification
from the Market Research Society (MRS), an The project’s level of knowledge about the engaged
organization specializing in data analytics. communities is high as a result of the intimacy
with which girls engage with respondents during
Interviews are carried out in the field using an online interviews. The project also sought the highest
mobile-based tool. The programme uses a specially possible level of connection with the girls’ ecosystem,
designed software created to engage girls, which as the technology was designed, tested and used by
includes data collection and interview functionalities. the target audience: adolescent girls from the same
The TEGA Research app features the typical elements communities that provide the information.
of game playing – a strategy known as gamification –
RESULTS: Findings include the lack of access
to stimulate the TEGAs in their learning journey. For
to support services in Nigeria and wide-
example, users are rewarded with different colours
spread violence in Saginaw.
and medals as they move from one level to the next.
This makes learning a fun experience, as girls are According to results from 2016 surveys in Nigeria,
engaged and motivated by these functionalities. women and girls reported early or forced marriage
as the most prevalent type of sexual exploitation,
The safety of the girls is supported by a number of followed by sexual assault and rape. Results also
features within the device, including: a unique pin showed that girls fear repercussions for talking
code to access the app; an SMS-based panic button about their sexual assault experience. Specifically,
that sends the location of the girl to her support referring to protection issues, TEGAs showed how
circle; connection with a secure content hub for girls experiencing gender-based violence were unable
uploading collected data to an online location (which to access support services because humanitarian
is then deleted from the phone); and a referral organizations were sharing inaccurate information
pathway, in case any safety issues are disclosed about those services.
during an interview.
In Saginaw, more than 6,000 video and audio clips
The app collects quantitative and qualitative data were collected from youth, mostly girls, revealing
and offers different ways to gather information and that 93 per cent of girls have witnessed violence
stories through videos, audio clips and photos. Such caused by gang dynamics, generally as silent
data carry strong emotional weight because they bystanders. The findings also revealed that two thirds
include personal expression and body language. of the boys and girls interviewed feel safest while at
One of the most valuable aspects of the tool is the home, but that, strikingly, 11 per cent of girls only
versatility of the data it collects. Because the data feel safe in their own room or bed. Stories revealed
capture the faces and expressions of the girls, as well that young women in Saginaw tend to fear gun and
as their fears and hopes, they can tell us a great deal gender-based violence, gangs and drug dealers.
about the needs of each girl.
For protection purposes, the results emerging from
There are different levels of youth involvement in the data are shared back with the communities
TEGA. The TEGAs and Selfie TEGAs play a leading through Girl Effect’s partner organizations, rather
role in shaping the programme, technology, and its than through the TEGAs themselves.
implementation, and are responsible for delivering
much-needed data on girls and boys as young as six
years of age, depending on the research gaps that
need to be filled.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: Improv-
from networks across the globe, including in India,
ing services, meeting community needs,
Nigeria and the United States, of TEGAs organizing
and continued participation
group activities for themselves. This is a significant
In Nigeria, the results were used by Oxfam to increase improvement, as girls tended to be distrustful and
the effectiveness of its services. Achievements suspicious of each other during the earliest pilot
include redesigning the processes for accessing stages. In 2016, for example, TEGAs from Kano,
services, leading to the adoption of changes across a Nigeria hosted a three-day workshop for Girl Effect
number of organizations working to support survivors staff from across the world to teach them how to set
of gender-based violence. up their own network. TEGAs in Kano have also taken
on additional project management responsibilities
In Michigan, results are currently being used by the within the office of Girl Effect’s local partner.
Saginaw Community Foundation to shape their work,
CHALLENGES: Ensuring girls’ safety
and by the Saginaw Police Department to strengthen
their efforts to meet community needs for the Ensuring safety for girls has been Girl Effect’s main
prevention of violence. challenge when implementing TEGA. During the
early stages of TEGA’s conceptualization, there were
One particularly praiseworthy outcome of this concerns from the international community about
participation is that TEGAs and Selfie TEGAs continue the safety of giving smartphones to girls in vulnerable
to be engaged after conducting interviews and communities, for fear that they would become
have formed a community of TEGAs who agree targets for theft and even violence and sexual harm.
to find common goals. There have been examples
©Christine Nesbitt
Girl Effect is continuously adapting the training for Girls had a leading role in designing technology that
TEGAs as the organization learns more about the was girl-friendly and easy to use, while ensuring their
girls and their lives, with additional topics added to safety — a critical aspect considering the risks TEGAs
refresher sessions such as money management and face as in-the-field researchers. Adults played a key
digital safety. Similarly, in facing some push-back role in empowering, guiding and protecting TEGAs.
from community respondents, Girl Effect has restored
participation by integrating a Community Leader Understanding that no one will comprehend the
video to the app. TEGAs can play this to respondents programme and its demographic’s needs better than
who may be skeptical about the nature of the girl themselves, Girl Effect has transferred decision-
programme. making power to TEGAs. The technology and the
programme are owned by girls who serve other girls’
needs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS: Fun technology for peer-
to-peer collection of deep, meaningful data
In addition, the use of ICTs has been remarkably
Girl Effect’s TEGA initiative is groundbreaking and innovative: Girl Effect came up with a way to collect
innovative in its overall approach: girls have a high extremely powerful data by using videos and audios
level of power and responsibility, ICTs are used to reflect girls’ body language and tone of voice while
comprehensively (in its data collection system and sharing their stories, adding enormous value and
user experience) to serve programme purposes, delivering deep data. The organization also adapted
and it has a strong peer-to-peer approach across to the needs and likes of their target audience by
many different levels. The organization was able to including typical elements of games in their research
identify a critical gap in data collection from a specific app, making it more fun and engaging for TEGAs. In
demographic — adolescent girls — and devise short, the organization truly believed in girls’ abilities
a solution that involved this group in its design, and capacities.
implementation and evaluation.
CASE STUDY 5
©Christine Nesbitt
5. International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, Queer & Intersex Youth &
Student Organization (IGLYO): Activists’
Academy and Inclusive Education Report
With 95 member organizations in more than 40 European countries, IGLYO created

the first inclusive education report, index and map, and a comprehensive overview of
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTQI) bullying and discrimination in
schools within each Council of Europe Member State. Through their Activists Academy
programme, IGLYO is empowering young people to mobilize their peers to prevent
discrimination against LGBTQI children and youth.
WHY: The highly disproportionate levels of with LGBTQI youth, teachers, youth organizations,
school victimization facing LGBTQI children academics and governments to better understand
and youth the causes of bullying, its impact on students, and
possible solutions. To advocate for the greater
School bullying remains a serious global issue. A protection and rights of LGBTQI students in school
recent UNESCO report estimates that 246 million and beyond, and create the evidence needed, IGLYO
children and young people experience school created an inclusive education index and report. In
violence and bullying in some form every year. addition, IGLYO realized that youth require practical
Furthermore, “the proportion of lesbian, gay, bisexual skills at the very start of their activist journey to
and transgender students (LGBT) experiencing school advance their ideas on tackling forms of violence
violence and bullying ranged from 16% to 85% and and discrimination, and this led the organization to
the prevalence of violence was between three and start an Activists Academy. The overall goal of both
five times higher among LGBT students than among initiatives is to make schools safer and more inclusive
their non-LGBT peers”. In 2016, to document this, for all students and empower young people to
IGLYO asked LGBTQI young people and adolescents mobilize others to tackle LGBTQI discrimination.
across Europe to share their school experiences.
Regardless of the country in which they lived, the WHAT: A comprehensive approach to
stories were frighteningly similar: fear, isolation, tackling LGBTQI discrimination that
exclusion and violence. combines research and training
IGLYO’s intervention can be framed as a
IGLYO has been working on the topic of education,
comprehensive youth-led approach to prevent
and more specifically, tackling homophobic,
LGBTQI bullying and discrimination, targeting
biphobic, transphobic, and interphobic bullying
adolescents and youth. IGLYO tackles bullying and
in schools for several years. It has worked directly
different forms of discrimination through youth-led
research, and peer-to-peer training and mobilization. data collection on bullying and harassment; support
It develops the confidence and skills young people systems; information and guidelines; partnerships
need to become leaders and advocates for human between governments and civil society; and
rights while, at the same time, collecting data and international commitment.
conducting research.
Subsequently, organizers established an expert
To improve LGBTQI students’ experience in school, working group with government representatives,
the organization compiled an extensive overview of civil society organizations and academics to look
the situation within each Council of Europe Member at existing research on inclusive education and
State (an inclusive education index and report), align these indicators with other international
measuring the levels of LGBTQI inclusion within recommendations. The indicators were tested
schools to provide clearer guidance for governments in seven countries through IGLYO member
and education ministries. IGLYO also organized an organizations, and feedback was collected. Once
Activist Academy, a five-day intensive skills-based updated, a questionnaire was sent to all member
training programme for young people in Europe who organizations to produce the final index and report.
have a strong interest in LGBTQI rights.
As part of the overall strategy to empower young
HOW: Youth-led research, peer-to-peer people to use the collected data to drive change,
training and mobilization IGLYO’s Annual Members’ Conference in 2017
IGLYO’s initiatives are youth designed, led, and included a session with 65 young people on how
implemented, and its intended beneficiaries are they could use the index and report to advocate for
children. All of its resources are developed by change in their own countries. They were split into
young people, who identify challenges and issues, six groups based on their perception of government
and work collaboratively with IGLYO to develop support for LGBTQI inclusive education (from very
material that they can use for advocacy. IGLYO’s supportive to very against) and tasked them to work
work is founded on how these young volunteers collaboratively to create solutions that could be
relate to their communities, what they see in their implemented in their home countries, with advocacy
schools, and where they identify gaps in support. goals and strategies in mind.
Given that the IGLYO network operates through
member organizations, its level of knowledge about The Activist Academy is a five-day intensive training
their engaged community, and its connection with programme for younger, less experienced LGBTQI
children’s ecosystem, are both high. activists, providing them with confidence and skills
to create a new generation of motivated LGBTQI
To develop the inclusive education index and report, youth leaders. They carry out team-building activities,
IGLYO held a consultation workshop at its Annual skills workshops (covering online campaigning,
Members Conference in October 2016 with 30 community organizing, group facilitation, filmmaking,
young people as a starting point for the updating community mobilization and public speaking), and
of previous minimum standards and put together a activities to apply the skills they have learned. After
set of indicators. These indicators comprised: anti- the 2017 training session, participants left with
discrimination laws applicable to education; policies greater confidence in their abilities to draft speeches,
and action plans; inclusive national curricula; teacher organize workshops, and develop films and campaign
training on LGBTQI awareness; gender recognition;
©Julio Dengucho
materials that they could use for advocacy and data on how well each government measured up
community mobilization upon returning home. against the indicators listed above. The results were
then used to advocate for inclusive education in
Because of the networking nature of IGLYO’s schools in 49 countries. The organization received
organization, its promotion and engagement responses from 18 of the 49 governments,
strategies are built upon existing structures, three of which have already provided feedback
inviting participants through each of their member on programmes and policies currently being
organizations and giving them priority participation. implemented.
As well as offline activities such as workshops, Of the 49 countries reviewed, there are currently only
conferences, training, toolkits, guides and research, four that provide most of the measures suggested
IGLYO also provides online webinars, toolkits and by the indicator (Malta, Netherlands, Norway and
guides. For each event and/or programme, such Sweden). Some regions of Spain have also developed
as the Activists Academy, IGLYO creates a closed inclusive laws and policies, but they have not been
Facebook group where participants can connect with implemented nationally.
each other before and after the event. Most of these
remain fairly active. The next stage of the project will be a mentorship
programme working directly with three or four
RESULTS: Rating governments on how governments. Participation results have been shared
inclusive their schools are back with adolescents and youth through IGLYO’s 95
For the inclusive education index, IGLYO collected member organizations and through social networks.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: Advocacy
help them during their ‘coming out’, and to face or
and further engagement
prevent school bullying and discrimination. Finally,
The inclusive education index aims to provide clearer a participant from Belgium co-coordinated a joint
guidelines for governments and their education meeting with three other LGBTQI NGOs, increasing
ministries on LGBTQI inclusion in schools. Regarding collaboration on LGBTQI discrimination.
the Activists Academy, participants have embarked
upon national advocacy work to prevent LGBTQI CHALLENGES: Language and responses to
bullying and discrimination. high demand for participation
IGLYO events are 95 per cent subsidized, which
Adolescents and youth from the 2017 Activist makes them accessible to all young people regardless
Academy have continued to use their new skills after of their financial situation. Because the working
their participation experiences. One participant from language is English, however, some young people
Romania, for example, drew on the experience to run from across Europe are excluded. As a result of the
a workshop at a regional LGBTQI conference, and to high demand for participation at IGLYO events, those
set up a new support group for transgender youth to with higher academic achievements are more likely
help prevent and address violence and discrimination to be selected because of the standards of their
against transgender youth and children. Another application.
participant from Finland set up activism training
and went from being a volunteer to becoming a KEY TAKEAWAYS: Data and skills
paid staff member of the local partner organization, IGLYO stands out for delivering a comprehensive
designing support workshops for young people to approach that combines data collection with
©UN photo/Eskinder Debebe
assessment, while training youth and providing the
tools they needed to become activists.
It also relies on a network structure and a peer-to-

peer model: even though IGLYO works with youth
over 18, its organizers understand that children and
adolescents are more likely to engage with a young
person who is closer to their age than with an adult.
IGLYO also empowers youth and adolescents to

build upon their own experiences and motivations
to mobilize others, understanding that the drive of
children and adolescents to participate is critical for
the engagement and mobilization of others.
CASE STUDY 6
©Pablo Schverdfinger
6. Yo Opino: children in Chile speak out
on the issues that affect them
For three consecutive years, the Government of Chile implemented the country’s largest
ever national consultation with children. The consultations had a different focus and
advocacy purpose each year, so children’s voices could be used to inform programmes
and policies. The urgent need to address different forms of discrimination came up in all
three of these annual consultations.
WHY: Reflecting children’s views in national the Council used the resulting data to achieve its
policies goal of drafting a National Policy for Children and
In 2018, the Government of Chile reported that 65 Adolescents.
per cent of children and adolescents in Chile (aged
12 to 17) had been exposed to violence in their WHAT: Annual child consultation
community over the previous year, while 46 per cent Yo Opino was used as an ongoing way to collect
had been victims of physical violence and 34 per children’s views and opinions each year in 2015, 2016
cent had been victims of violence or abuse by their and 2017, in collaboration with a number of partners.
parents or caregivers. Violence in schools was also The Council promoted and implemented this activity
a problem; 23 per cent of children had been victims through schools across the country, during school
of verbal violence and discrimination at their school, hours, with facilitation by teachers in the classroom.
and 20 per cent victims of physical violence. Although this initiative was not focused specifically
on violence, children raised persistent concerns
In 2014, the Government of Chile created the about being victims of assault, discrimination and
‘National Council for Children’, a presidential other forms of violence during all three annual
advisory body, to coordinate public agencies for consultations.
the development of comprehensive policies for
children. In 2015, responding to the need for an Yo Opino’s participants were aged 4 to 18 and
ongoing mechanism to collect children’s viewpoints came from different parts of the country. In 2015
and reflect them when developing programmes the consultation focused on the good treatment of
and policies, the Council created Yo Opino (meaning children, their participation, and their progressive
‘I opine’, or ‘I give my opinion’), a national youth autonomy. The results aimed to inform the
consultation process, which gathered youth National Children and Adolescents policy drafted
opinions for three consecutive years. Subsequently, by Chile’s National Council for Children, as well as
legislative discussions on child-related legislation Each consultation used the same approach: core
being discussed in Congress at the time. The 2016 themes used as guidelines for the consultation,
consultation collected children’s views on the varied activities that depended on the age
promotion of their rights, aiming to feed these group, data-collection systematization, and the
into school’s civic education programmes. The uploading of results by an adult facilitator (usually
2017 consultation focused on the Sustainable a schoolteacher). Regardless of the presence of
Development Agenda (SDA), introducing and adult facilitators, the methodology encouraged and
reflecting upon the Sustainable Development Goals reassured children in relation to their right to express
(SDGs), and giving children the opportunity to speak their opinions freely.
out on their priorities and identify possible actions
to address them. In this year, children participated as The youngest children (aged 4 to 10) worked with
data providers. short stories, which varied according to their age
group, with the youngest drawing pictures. Two
The consultation was adult-designed, led and teachers facilitated the activities: one encouraged
implemented, but it did respond to a previous discussion among a small group of participants,
demand from children for an adult-free participation and the other was responsible for registering the
space where they could voice their opinions. Such outcomes. After a process of reflection, children
demands emerged from previous offline dialogues would draw the subjects that had captured their
between children, adolescents and adults, which attention. Teachers would then choose the five
were conducted by the National Council for Children drawings that best reflected the group work and
and UNDP Chile between November 2014 and March upload them as part of the results.
2015.
Children aged 11 to 18 worked with collective
HOW: Combining methods, with a focus on discussion methodologies, dividing themselves
group work and discussions into three groups (one for each core issue). They
In 2015, 831,434 children took part in the annual moderated the group discussions and took notes
consultation; 424,446 in 2016, and 658,605 in 2017. for themselves. Each group presented their work to
Basic information was gathered for each participant the rest of the class, and conclusions were identified
(age, gender, school and ethnicity), and the extent collectively.
of connection with children’s ecosystems often
depended on the capacity and creativity of each The initiative’s direct engagement was with schools,
individual teacher. Children were not involved in the rather than children themselves. The Ministry of
design process and did not take the lead. Education promoted the participation activity,
capitalizing on existing structures. While the
The 2015 consultation intended to involve children participatory activities were offline, their results were
more actively before the implementation phase, collected on a website, and later published online.
and a methodology for this enhanced involvement
was shared with a children’s advisory committee. RESULTS: Children want non-violent
However, there was not enough time to incorporate treatment from adults, and an end to
their feedback. bullying and discrimination
Each consultation collected both quantitative and
qualitative data on a wide range of issues.
©Bernardino Soares
The results of the 2015 consultation showed that older, ending discrimination became even more
20 per cent of children believe non-discriminatory important. Again, this was strongly connected to
practices and respect for diversity should be in-school relationships, and consequent bullying and
promoted. Qualitative data demonstrated that cyberbullying.
children want adults to treat them with more respect
(avoiding verbal and physical punishment), as they Similarly, during the 2017 consultation, children
often feel invisible to them, and feel neglected when chose SDG 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions)
they are punished or verbally mistreated. The results as their second most important priority, right after
also revealed that children are well aware of violent SDG 1, (end poverty in all its forms). Children also
behaviours between their peers at school. They suggested specific actions that governments can
expressed a desire for better relationships and for take to stop discriminatory behaviour and promote
ways to avoid and eradicate violent practices such as peaceful interactions between communities.
bullying and cyberbullying.
Each year, the results of these consultations were
In the 2016 consultation, the right to non- shared with children and their school communities
discrimination was a major priority for children. The through the official website, and via offline regional
results showed that children firmly believe – and conversation spaces. While children took part in
from a very young age – in their right to be protected these regional conversation spaces, they were not in
against any form of violence, abuse and exploitation. a position to evaluate Yo Opino as a whole.
In fact, the younger they are, the stronger that belief.
The findings also revealed that, as children grew
ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: Encouraged by Yo Opino’s methodology, the Dr.
Contributions to children’s policies, and Exequiel González Cortés Children’s Hospital hosted
data for ongoing reference the country’s first ‘Participatory Congress on Health
Rights’. The Congress revealed that children feel
Although the consultation processes fulfilled an that they are overlooked as patients (with health
advocacy role, its concrete achievements were not professionals talking to their parents or other
so tangible, as the results were used primarily as an accompanying adults), and that they are excluded
ongoing reference to influence programmes, policies, from any decisions. The hospital used these results
and laws. The 2015 consultation results were used as to set new standards for how children are treated as
input data during the drafting process of the National patients: as bearers of rights, including the rights to
Policy for Children and Adolescents, and for ongoing information and to be heard.
reference by Chile’s National Council for Children.
In addition, results were printed and shared with CHALLENGES: Direct participation without
each Chilean MP to inform the legislative discussions adults as intermediaries
around Chile’s Law to guarantee the rights of the child.
Several barriers and challenges have been identified,
The results from 2016 were used primarily by schools the first being the role of adults who act as
themselves. The 2017 results contributed to Chile’s intermediaries to children’s participation. The fact
voluntary report during that year’s High-Level Political that teachers were responsible for translating and
Forum in New York, where the Government of Chile uploading results could have affected the accuracy of
presented its progress towards the achievement of the discussion outcomes. In general, the approach was
SDGs. top down from its design to its implementation.
One very specific outcome was the influence of Coordination between partners was also challenging,
the consultations on the Council’s communication particularly as they varied from one year to another.
campaigns, as the results were used to create
awareness of the importance of listening to children In the first year of implementation, cultural
and the negative effects of not including them. differences throughout the country affected the
Participating children were not, however, involved way in which children interpreted the content of
in actual decision-making processes as part of this the consultation. For example, stories were used
activity. for working with the younger children, yet some
story characters were animals that were common in
The Council did not continue to engage children the south of the country, but unfamiliar to children
specifically around Yo Opino, although there are from the north. This was addressed in the next two
records of children’s continuing engagement within consultations by providing several content options.
schools. Some schools, for example, formed student
councils as a result of Yo Opino. In the 2016 and 2017 consultations, follow-up
advocacy using the participation results was not the
This participation experience also encouraged other sole responsibility of implementing organizations,
institutions to adopt ways to listen to children as part making it challenging to keep track of impact and
of their efforts to create child-related programmes concrete achievements. In 2016, for example,
and policies. participation results were delivered back to
schools, so they could use them within their own Yo Opino has been Chile’s largest children’s
communities. But there is no record of how – or if – consultation. As such, it sends a strong message
they were used to achieve change. about the recognition of children’s rights and
the need to institutionalize measures for their
In addition, Yo Opino’s final version coincided with participation. The fact that Yo Opino was repeated
the last year of the Government administration. This, for three consecutive years and implemented in the
in turn, meant tighter deadlines for feedback on any classroom conveys a direct and powerful message
achievements and the use of data. This suggests that to children: adults are telling them that their right to
when such activities are tied to the agenda of a single freely express themselves should be respected, and
administration’s agenda, it is less likely that they will that time and resources should be invested in such
continue. experiences.
KEY TAKEAWAYS: Political will matters This rights-based message was also well received
for the inclusion of children’s views in by local governments, which aim to replicate the
programmes and policies methodology within their own communities.
There are two key takeaways from this participation Yo Opino has not been implemented since the end
experience: first, the political will of the the administration that was in power at the time,
administration to include children’s voices as part and there is uncertainty about its continuance.
of it process, and second, the outreach achieved by Another takeaway is the way in which projects risk
building upon the existing reach of the Ministry of becoming tied to political agendas if they are not
Education. institutionalized.
CASE STUDY 7
©Roger LeMoyne
7. Restless Development India:
Empowering children and youth against
child marriage
Restless Development addresses child marriage and gender discrimination in three of

the most vulnerable states in India. The organization has created a network of youth
leaders, encouraged child-centred community action and campaigns, mobilized over
287,000 children and adolescents, and prompted 10 villages to declare themselves free
of child marriage.
WHY: Child marriage is still socially and implementation of legislation and policies to
acceptable in parts of India prevent such marriages.
Child marriage is widespread across India, with nearly
half of brides married as girls. While there has been a WHAT: Open discussion with children on
decline in the incidence of child marriage nationally, their rights, education and mobilization
the pace of change remains slow, specially for girls Restless Development has been addressing gender
aged 15 to 18, and it remains a social accepted discrimination and child marriage in three of the
practice in in many parts of the country. Girls married most vulnerable states in India: Odisha (Ganjam and
as children are more likely to face violence, abuse and Jagatsinghpur districts), Jharkhand (Deoghar and
exposure to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted Pakur districts) and Bihar (Munger, Bhagalpur and
diseases because they have fewer skills and less East Chamaparan districts). It has done so by openly
negotiating power. discussing these culturally sensitive issues, educating
young girls about their rights, and equipping them
Restless Development engages girls and boys aged with the skills to stay in school or employment.
10 to 17 who are at risk of child marriage, given the The approaches have tended to focus on youth-led
social characteristics of their environments. To lower mobilization, youth-led data collection, youth and
the rates of child marriage, Restless Development has child-led advocacy, and peer-to-peer education and
focused on mobilizing adolescents and youth with learning.
the following goals: to enable them to make informed
decisions on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights Interventions are carried out in coordination with the
(SRHR) issues and child marriage; to empower young Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance,
women and girls to exercise their SRHR and avoid the which provides intensive training to the organization’s
child, early and forced marriages encouraged by their youth leaders (aged 18 to 24). These youth leaders
environment; and to advocate for the development then mobilize children and engage parents, family
members, community members and panchayat leaders (aged 18 to 24) to mobilize other members
members to end child marriage. of their own community members, including younger
children.
Between 2014 and 2017, Restless Development
trained more than 287,000 adolescent girls and boys, Their roles are to: assess the reasons for child
both in schools and in out-of-school settings, through marriage and collect personal experiences through
a network of 40 young leaders on issues of child their vulnerability assessment tool; educate children
marriage, body rights and menstruation. In 2015, (whether in or out of school) and mobilize them and
through their #KnotSoYoung campaign, they reached their communities; strengthen spaces for youth-led
more than 180,000 children and young people in activities by setting up youth clubs in schools and
urban and rural communities. And between 2016 and other settings to encourage young boys and girls to
2017, over 194,000 girls led mobilization activities to meet, share their opinions, and engage on different
help prevent child marriage. activities; and sensitize local authorities to ensure no
more child marriages take place.
Restless Development India has also trained
approximately 150 young volunteers to collect The youth leaders are supported by expert staff
data from children aged 10 to 14 using M-Sat, a members for the implementation of peer-to-peer
smartphone-based technology. They identify areas education, data collection, vulnerability assessment,
with high rates of child marriage or school dropouts, and the mobilization of children aged 10 to 17.
and their volunteers visit households to collect data Community leaders create local youth clubs for these
from children through face-to-face questionnaires. younger children, encouraging their continuous
All data are uploaded automatically to a single server, engagement by providing a physical space where they
where they are systematized manually. can meet and shape their own advocacy goals and
strategies.
Even though the activities have been designed mostly
by youth, the organization has implemented ‘youth The organization’s volunteers reach out directly to
clubs’ in each community, which provide spaces for schools for in-school activities to engage children.
younger children (aged 10 to 17) to build their own They know the age, gender, city and school of each
advocacy plans. The campaign has included specific participant in the in-school work. However, they also
child-led activities as part of the campaign, with more identify out-of-school children and visit them in their
than 19,400 girls aged 10 to 14 leading awareness homes.
drives in schools and communities on the adverse
impact of early marriage and the need to demystify A deeper level of connection is possible in youth
menstruation. In addition, approximately 150,000 centres, where participants are engaged more
children within the same age group participated frequently. This connection with the existing
in classroom lessons, with their views providing ecosystems of adolescents and young people is one
valuable data. of the founding principles of Restless Development,
and all activities are implemented in collaboration
HOW: Peer-to-peer engagement and with children and youth who understand their
mobilization communities and surroundings.
Restless Development’s model is founded on a peer-
to-peer approach. First, it trains a group of youth The work is carried out mostly offline and in person
on the ground, yet Restless Development also uses a campaign to install facilities that were private and
social networks to support campaigns and stimulate functional.
greater participation.
ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: Declaring
RESULTS: Data and mobilization to protect Panchayats ‘marriage free’
children This participation experience resulted in many
Different kinds of data have been collected through concrete achievements. As part of their Constitution
this child participation experience, including mandate, Panchayats are expected to form
vulnerability assessment data from face-to-face committees to improve overall conditions for their
questionnaires, data to monitor the progress of in- citizens in relation to welfare, nutrition, health and
school interventions, and information provided by WASH (to name a few), and to prevent child, early
children in schools. or forced marriages. However, these committees are
often inactive or do not convene meetings. Restless
There have been other significant results. For Development encouraged committees to become
example, the organization’s youth leaders identified active and to meet, and trained committee members
child marriage as a key risk factor for the poor to act in accordance with the rights of children
attendance of some girls in schools – a problem enshrined in the Constitution as well as in various
exacerbated by the lack of functional toilet facilities statutes.
to meet their needs during menstruation. Girls would
not go to school during their periods and were at As a result, more than 10 Panchayats declared
greater risk of being sexually abused or forced into a themselves free of child marriage. In addition, girls’
marriage. In-school clubs for girls and boys conducted campaign and advocacy activities convinced local
audits of facilities in their schools, which resulted in authorities to install functional sanitary facilities in 64
©Bashir Ahmed Sujan
©Karel Prinsloo
schools, so their peers would not stop going to school levels, which pose a threat to child participation; a
during their menstruation. patriarchal mindset that does not allow girls (and
women) self-determination over their bodies; to the
Collected data have been used for advocacy vested interests of religious, political and ideological
purposes, such as a qualitative study on the causes of groups.
the high rates of child marriage in these three states
(including a lack of awareness of the Prohibition Act KEY TAKEAWAYS: Peer-to-peer at different
of 2006), and to reinforce support for continued levels, empowerment and data
interventions against child marriage. Restless Development India’s model stands out for its
combination of peer-to-peer approaches at different
One other general outcome has been the ongoing levels, and for working simultaneously with adults
participation of those involved. Young people, to sensitize and train them. Peer-to-peer work is
children, parents and other community members are conducted first by youth from the organization’s staff
engaged continuously through counselling sessions (all of them under 30 years of age) to other youth, so
and other informal and interactive meetings in youth they can become leaders in their communities. These
resource centres. youth then reach out to younger audiences, and later
create safe spaces where children and youth can
CHALLENGES: Social acceptance meet and engage others. It is very similar to digital
The main barriers to advocacy identified by Restless virtualization, but in an offline sphere.
Development are: social acceptance of child
marriage; menstruation, which has cultural links This approach is also very comprehensive: the
to views around purity; poverty and low education organization collects data, trains other organizations,
provides children with useful information, identifies can reflect upon their surroundings, develop their
children at risk, and engages decision makers and own strategies, and lead their own activities. Being
other adults. Restless Development India is very composed of young adults, the organization transfers
aware that children and youth need to collaborate decision-making power to children, so they too can
with decision makers if they are to influence become the agents of change for their own lives.
programmes and policies.
Finally, this initiative uses ICTs for real-time data
Restless Development also understands the collection and reporting, understanding that
importance of connecting with children’s ecosystems, empowerment itself can benefit from being data
as well as giving them a safe space where they driven.
CASE STUDY 8
©Karel Prinsloo
8. Restless Development Tanzania:
empowering adolescents and youth to
break the silence on sexual reproductive
rights and gender-based violence
Between January and March 2018, Restless Development Tanzania used a peer-to-peer
approach to reach and mobilize almost 10,000 adolescents around sexual reproductive
health access and gender-based violence prevention.
WHY: Empowering adolescents to break the The goal of the intervention is to empower children
silence and adolescents with sexual reproductive health
As in every other country, children are not safe from education and information, so that they can
sexual abuse in Tanzania. According to Tanzania’s claim their rights and benefit from all the positive
Human Rights Report (2017) 85 per cent of reported outcomes of doing so, such as preventing and
acts of violence against children aged 7 to 14 were reporting different forms of violence, discrimination
sexual, particularly rape or sodomy. In addition, and sexually transmitted diseases. The objectives
Tanzania carries 5 per cent of the global burden of of the project are to create demand for health
HIV among adolescents. services, so they respond to the needs of adolescents
and improve their programmes, and to provide
“Girls are disproportionately affected and are almost adolescents with relevant information so that they
three times more likely to be living with HIV than boys feel more confident about speaking out when
of the same age. Early marriage and childbearing are necessary.
common – 27 per cent of girls aged 15–19 years are
either pregnant or have had a child”. This experience is part of Restless Development
Tanzania’s broader agenda. The organization aims to
Lack of information about Sexual Reproductive Health work with young people’s priorities, equipping them
and Rights (SRHR) influences the risks of sexual to find solutions on the matters that affect them.
violence and discrimination and of being infected In Tanzania, this means a specific focus on youth
with sexually transmitted diseases, or both. Restless empowerment, livelihood, and sexual rights across 10
Development believes that empowering adolescents programmes.
and youth to break the silence on these issues helps
to prevent such forms of violence.
WHAT: Providing information, creating
activities. Children and adolescents are encouraged
awareness, and referring adolescents to
to take part in weekly meetings where they can
health facilities
access information on SRHR and services, share their
Restless Development’s model is based on the belief personal experiences, and suggest local advocacy
that children and young people can become agents of work and strategies.
change in their own lives. The organization relies on
adolescent- and youth-led peer-to-peer mobilization, For in-school activities, community leaders capitalize
youth-led advocacy, and child-led mobilization. on school structures to engage with adolescents, as
well as their teachers and families. In some of their
To tackle gender-based violence and sexually projects, school clubs are formed with children aged
transmitted diseases, the organization aims to 10 to 14. For out-of-school activities, young leaders
create awareness amongst adolescents and increase identify children who are not enrolled in school,
demand for health facilities and gender-specific engage with them through one-on-one conversations,
referral systems. Its holistic approach includes and invite them to youth groups where they can
raising awareness among adolescents’ parents and benefit from the programme.
teachers, as well as providing training to health
facility staff, and working with authorities to improve Young leaders also organize weekend outreach
interventions, reporting mechanisms, and adolescent events that involve both in-school and out-of-school
SRHR-focused programmes in general. Restless adolescents, where they create awareness among
Development works directly with adolescents, adolescents on SRHR and gender-based violence.
encouraging them to visit health facilities and report They invite staff from health facilities to attend, so
back on their experience, creating data that are then they can answer adolescents’ questions and address
used for advocacy and service improvements. their needs during the events, as not all adolescents
are able to physically attend health facilities, even
Participants are male and female children, when referred (mostly because of school hours).
adolescents and youth aged between 10 and
24. Between January and March 2018, 10,046 In addition, young leaders conduct regular parent and
adolescents were reached and mobilized with SRHR stakeholder meetings to update them and get their
education, and 3,271 were referred to a health feedback and opinions for improvement. Mobilizing
facility, of which 2,767 have confirmed using services. adults (parents, teachers and health workers) is an
engagement and outreach strategy that ensures
HOW: Mobilizing children, adolescents, young people have access to safe, youth-friendly
adults, and stakeholders services.
The peer-to-peer approach works by first training
young volunteer leaders (national and community, Younger children (10 to 18) provide feedback and
aged 20 to 28) on sexual rights, sexual reproductive other contributions, which are considered and
health, gender-based violence, child protection incorporated into the programme’s implementation.
policy, local culture, social norms, and current In fact, most of the project activities are the results of
challenges in the country. National leaders serve the feedback received during the implementation of
as mentors for community leaders, who mobilize previous programmes.
and educate children and adolescents both in and
out of school in their communities through various
Some activities are entirely adolescent-led, such as Depending on their needs, some adolescents are
teen clubs for children aged 10 to 14. These have referred to health facilities, and later report data back
their own leadership structure and implement to their community leaders about their experience
various activities on their own with support and and what needs to be improved. Young leaders share
mentorship from trained young leader volunteers. this information with national leaders and Restless
Development, who use the information to improve
The programme’s level of knowledge about programmes and policies.
the engaged community is high, as young
leaders mobilize children within their own Data from the implemented project are collected
communities and engage with them on a weekly via different means: from adolescents who visit the
basis. Connection with the ecosystem is also health facilities and report on their experience, and
considerable. As part of their training, young on a monthly basis from young leaders who report on
leaders learn about their local ecosystem, project achievements and goals.
including its social norms, culture, and current
national challenges. The fact that young leaders RESULTS: Using data to improve
come from the communities where their programmes
interventions take place is a key factor. Restless Results and systematized data (collected from
Development also encourages adolescents to build adolescents’ reports upon visiting health facilities)
communities of their own, and to be creative in have been presented to local authorities and health
engaging others and mobilizing their communities. facilities to improve programmes, as well as the
logistics and infrastructure of health facilities.
©UN photo/Mark Garten
Participation results are shared back with children adolescents requires a collective community approach
through project review sessions, refresher trainings, has translated into adolescent participation in village
and field-support visits. Children have not yet been meetings with local authorities.
able to evaluate their own participation, as project
evaluation is still pending. However, their full CHALLENGES: Logistics and reaching out-of-
inclusion in evaluation is planned. school children
Most of the barriers that have been identified are
Restless Development has seen good cooperation related to the logistics and infrastructure for health
and support from local government authorities facilities, particularly in relation to adolescents’ SRHR
and school management. Interventions have been needs. These barriers include attendance hours
accepted positively by parents and guardians, and that coincide with school hours, making it difficult
Restless Development’s staff have seen positive for adolescents to seek medical advice; insufficient
changes in adolescents’ attitudes, confidence and skilled staff to deal with adolescents’ issues; a lack
self-esteem. of friendly environments and safe spaces where
adolescents can feel comfortable; and insufficient
ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: stocks of supplies.
Verifying the needs of health facilities, and
adolescents meet local authorities In addition, out-of-school children are hard to reach
The collected data and participation results have and engage, mostly because they are already involved
been used for concrete achievements. By receiving in economic activities and have very limited time for
adolescents’ reports, Restless Development has participation.
been able to show that family planning supplies are
rarely available in health facilities due to insufficient KEY TAKEAWAYS: Empowering children
stock and highlight the lack of youth-friendly The key takeaways from this experience are the
services. These two critical issues are now part of importance of peer-to-peer work; believing in
the organization’s broader advocacy agenda when children’s empowerment as a way to prevent sexual
meeting with decision makers and stakeholders who violence, gender-based violence, and sexually
aim to reduce gender-based violence and sexual transmitted diseases; and encouraging children’s
abuse in Tanzania. communities to come together to help protect all
children. As part of its broader agenda in Tanzania,
Another positive participation outcome is that, after Restless Development has empowered children and
accessing SRHR information and assistance, children youth with information and access to health services.
and adolescents continue to engage in the community- While the organization is well aware that this is not
based networks and clubs initiated by young leaders. the only way to tackle such forms of violence, it trusts
Even so, sustaining child and adolescent participation children with relevant and much-needed information,
over time has presented challenges, which have so they can make smart decisions that will help
been partly overcome by involving the rest of the to prevent violence. This initiative also brings the
community, such as teachers, parents and local community together – parents, teachers, guardians,
government authorities. The organization believes decision makers, children, youth – around this issue,
that if it builds a deeper understanding of adolescents’ and that sends a strong message: children and adults
needs, it will have a better understanding of what it can work together, and should all be responsible for
can offer. A belief that the well-being of children and children’s well-being.
CASE STUDY 9
©Tanya Bindra
9. #StandTogether: Organizations in
Malaysia encourage child-led solutions to
bullying
Civil society, government, UN agencies and the private sector worked together to
encourage children to think of ways to tackle bullying by focusing on kindness. Over
130 ideas were presented in one week, and over 30 solutions were deployed, enabling
children to implement their own projects in schools.
WHY: Bullying is a critical issue in Malaysia The educational landscape in Malaysia has been
rocked many times by phenomenal cases of bullying,
Multiple reports signal the urgent need to address
several of which have resulted in deaths. Most of the
bullying and provide support to create positive
response has been around anti-bullying campaigns
social change. The prevalence of bullying and cyber
focusing on the victims of bullying, but have not
bullying, combined with under-reporting, punitive
addressed the bullies themselves. Stakeholders feel
justice and a lack of action, are all areas of concern
that such approaches tend to vilify bullies, creating
that affect children today.
a larger gap between aggressors and victims and a
divide amongst young audiences.
Findings from a U-Report Malaysia opinion poll78
indicate that 50 per cent of the children and
adolescents who responded have experienced some By building upon kindness as a leading factor,
sort of bullying in school, and that 74 per cent of implementing entities aimed to widen the spectrum
the cases of bullying were not reported to school of action and produce a campaign that would address
authorities, often because of skepticism or fear. both perpetrators and victims of bullying to create
a healthy community anchored in proactive, rather
Strikingly, 58 per cent of polled children also admitted than punitive, approaches.
to having displayed bullying behaviuor themselves.
The most common reasons were ‘being annoyed’ The overall goal behind #StandTogether was to
or ‘for fun’. Results also revealed that one in two reduce bullying by emphasizing kindness as the
children and adolescents knew someone who had solution. It aimed to engage schools to commit to the
been a victim of bullying , and three in four children
79
campaign by getting principals to adopt and apply
who responded to the Children4Change 2017 survey kindness-based solutions, getting teachers to use
in the country said that they were concerned about the developed materials in the classroom to discuss
bullying and proposed more kindness and less bullying and cultural aspects, and getting children to
violence to address the issue. come up with and implement student-led kindness
solutions.
WHAT: Social mobilization, where kindness Children were encouraged to identify the problems
is the solution; adult-led, and child- and within their school community, and to assess the
adult- implemented. feasibility of implementing their suggested solution
In April 2018, a group of partner organizations by drawing up a budget for it. The 30 winning
comprised of UN agencies, government, civil projects were awarded implementation grants, but
society and the private sector , launched a national
80
all students were encouraged to implement their
campaign to promote kindness to tackle bullying project ideas, regardless of whether they had won or
in schools. After a series of bullying incidents that not. Organizers launched a call to action to capture
affected the nation, stakeholders from different pictures of the solutions and post them on Instagram
sectors came together for #StandTogether Malaysia, with a specific hashtag. The most active schools on
inviting schools to submit solutions developed by Instagram were also given awards. Other activities
child-adult collaboration to promote kindness in were also tailored to the campaign, such as face-to-
schools and prevent bullying. face conversations between children and counsellors,
and a ‘kindness carnival’ where some of the children’s
In just one week, students submitted over 130 ideas and solutions were presented to further engage
projects, and 750 schools took actions to promote others and keep promoting kindness.
kindness, including high cluster performance
schools81, rural schools, community schools, and Children had different levels of involvement during
religious schools: indeed, all schools where children the overall project, depending on the nature of their
are potential victims of bullying and/or cyberbullying. relationship with the implementing entities. Some
In all, 30 projects were selected for funding and provided feedback before the campaign was actually
implementation. launched; others suggested ideas or solutions to
bullying around Kindness Projects; a significant
The main level of children’s involvement was in number submitted their ideas as part of the multi-
coming up with the ideas and implementing student- part contest; and others implemented kindness-
led solutions to bullying in their schools. While the related activities during the campaign.
campaign was led by adults, children were included
as advisers from the initial stages. Children did have a leading role within their own
communities, specifically leading the design and
HOW: Engaging schools, government and implementation phases of their own solutions
different stakeholders, and using ICTs to (although the process for submissions required the
connect directly with children involvement of a schoolteacher to ensure the school
The campaign was developed in collaboration with a supported the project and its implementation).
closed group of children age 14 to 18. Their feedback
was incorporated and helped to shape some of the The level of knowledge organizers had about
campaign’s main activities. This was followed by a participating children was limited to age, gender and
two-part contest that encouraged students to submit school, as they engaged mainly with school systems
their own solutions to bullying within the framework and administrative entities, and not directly with
of kindness. A committee of adult partners chose the children themselves. The campaign’s connection to
winning projects. 82
children’s ecosystems was high, however, as children
were invited to identify their solution within their
school context (their closest community) and reflect
upon their ecosystem. In fact, one critical question in opinion poll, and another 1,000 on World Children’s
the submission form was: why does your school need Day 2017. The results were used to influence the
this? campaign’s roadmap, but also to advocate for better
reporting mechanisms, as poll findings revealed
#StandTogether used multiple channels to reach that 42 per cent of victims of bullying who did
children. Building upon the existing connection not report the incident believed that if they did, it
between Malaysia’s Ministry of Education and wouldn’t achieve anything, and 24 per cent were
schools was critical, as the Ministry played a key role afraid to report it.83 Given the low level of reported
in ensuring that schools had the information they cases, these results were shared with the Ministry
needed. The Ministry’s endorsement was also a sign of Education to promote the creation of alternative
of assurance that schools could safely participate. reporting systems, which are currently being
Other engagement and outreach channels that assessed.
proved effective were on-the ground-activities
such as counsellor trainings, school assemblies and The campaign results have not yet been shared with
workshops. Celebrities also helped to amplify the children, and they have not evaluated the activity.
campaign through videos posted on their social
media channels. ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: Student-
led initiatives take centre stage
Manuals and toolkits were available both online and Organizers are still working on concrete
offline. ICTs were used to promote the campaign achievements. As of June 2018, the overall outreach
on social media (Facebook, Youtube), disseminate of the campaign was still under evaluation. Valuable
resources, and collect real-time data. These data were collected to improve mechanisms to report
online channels were particularly useful for direct bullying, and, in collaboration with their teachers,
engagement with children, without schools as children came up with more than 130 possible
intermediaries. UNICEF was able to collect real time solutions to tackling bullying using a kindness-based
data instantly via U-Report to contribute evidence approach. By mobilizing thousands, the campaign
on how children relate to bullying. Thanks to the made a clear statement: in Malaysia, children are part
#StandTogether hashtag, which categorized relevant of the solution to bullying and cyberbullying.
social media posts, organizers could receive children’s
reporting when implementing their ideas. Celebrities The results of this participation have also contributed
could contribute to the campaign by raising to the Ministry of Education’s efforts to achieve
awareness and communicating with children through SDG target 4.7 on the acquisition of knowledge
their own posts. and skills84, and to encourage the Government to
examine student-led initiatives more closely as
RESULTS: Collaborative efforts for tackling a way to reduce bullying and create safe spaces.
bullying Nevertheless, children have not been involved in
The campaign sent a strong message throughout decision-making spaces.
Malaysia about the need to find different ways to
address bullying. In terms of participation outcomes, children have
continued to engage since the project’s main
More than 1,400 children provided their views and activities. A winning school in Sabah, for example,
experiences on bullying through a UNICEF U-Report was invited to be part of the Borneo International
Marathon, where its students had the opportunity Children who were invited to contribute their ideas
to showcase their work. In addition, children and for solutions based on kindness were stimulated
adolescents still use the hashtag #StandTogether in to reflect upon a solution and a message of hope.
social networks as they continue to implement their Inviting children to think of a solution to ‘bullying’
solutions to bullying. is very different to inviting them to reflect upon
‘kindness’. Implementing agencies – with the
#StandTogether is looking to expand to a yearly collaboration of adolescents – looked at bullying from
national event, and to include advocacy outcomes. a different angle and built an appealing campaign
based on a positive concept (kindness), rather than
CHALLENGES: improving collaborative a negative one (bullying). Furthermore, inviting
approaches entire schools to participate – and not just individual
The main challenges identified were the coordination children – sent a two-fold message: we’re all in
of processes across all the stakeholders, which had a this together (hence the name), and participation
direct effect on timings. Others included a reluctance exercises and reflecting upon our surroundings are
to burden teachers with over-reporting for the part of learning and growing up.
campaign (given that the amount of administrative
work they need to process on a regular basis is The experience also encouraged adults to partner
already a national problem) and mobilizing for such with children, and to guide and protect them in
large scales. the process. Adults shared decision-making power
with children when coming up with ideas and
KEY TAKEAWAYS: Shifting the angle and implementing their kindness-driven solutions.
involving all sectors.
One main highlight of this participation experience Lastly, #StandTogether Malaysia stands out for
is that it encouraged children to reflect upon having a wide range of partners collaborating to
their surroundings, ecosystems, and how they encourage children to participate. It is the only
(or someone they know) are affected by bullying. experience analyzed in this report that benefited
Implementing bodies understood that children do not from contributions made by different sectors -- civil
just engage for the sake of it: they are inspired to do society, UN agencies, government, academia and the
so by personal drive and motivation. private sector -- to a single cause.
©Ueslei Mercelino
CASE STUDY 10
The government of Mexico asked over the views and opinions of children and adolescents,
46,000 children and adolescents how they through web-based channels and occasionally
feel they are treated. Findings revealed Facebook and Twitter (for children older than 13).
that three per cent of children experience During 2017, OpiNNA engaged Mexican children
physical violence by a family member on a between the ages of 6 and 17 from different parts
daily basis. of the country (one per cent of which were not in
WHY: Position children’s voices to turn school), via adult-led and implemented opinion
them into actions polls. Over 27,000 children aged 6 to 17 gave their
views on discrimination, and over 46,000 on how
Violence against children in Mexico is a determining they were treated by adults. Children’s main level of
factor in school drop-outs and even a significant involvement was responding to opinion polls.
cause of child deaths. Figures from the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) HOW: Responding to online polls
from 2017, placed Mexico, out of all 37 member- OpiNNA uses ‘Participa’, a software designed
countries of the organization, as the country with the specifically for online opinion polls.
highest rates of physical violence, sexual abuse and
homicides against children under 14. Children go online and choose to answer a poll. When
doing so, they provide their age, gender and location.
In 2014, Mexico launched a ‘General Law on All information is anonymous and confidential.
Children and Adolescent Rights’, which was followed Occasionally, other channels are activated, such as
by a new child protection system established in UNICEF’s U-Report, which works through Facebook
2015. This included the need to activate child and Twitter with children older than 13, but SIPINNA’s
participation mechanisms throughout government official channel is through their website. Results
structures. To meet this need, the country’s Sistema are not displayed in real time. They are collected by
Nacional de Protección Integral de Niñas, Niños y SIPINNA and published online once systematized.
Adolescentes (SIPINNA), meaning National System Results are also shared with children through social
for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and networks and program partners.
Adolescents, initiated a polling system, to encourage
child participation and collect quantitative data Their entire system is built online; however, in order
directly from children themselves. to engage out-of-school children, who may not
have access to the Internet, SIPINNA partnered up
Through opinion polls, the government wants with CONAFE (the National Council for Educational
children’s and adolescents’ perspective on their Development) to promote the polls through their
rights, in order to develop new ideas for programs community instructors in the field. When they visit
and policies. By using OpiNNA, SIPINNA wants to
have children and adolescents’ voices as an integral The following are the conclusions and
part of the decision-making processes so they can be recommendations from our analysis:
heard and influence public actions.
1. There is a shift in the paradigm around child
WHAT: Opinion polls for collecting participation, evolving from ‘let’s hear to what
children’s views and experiences children have to say’, to ‘let’s enable children
OpiNNA, is an opinion poll system used to collect to identify problems, make decisions, challenge
©Adriana Zehbrauskas
10. OpiNNA: Children in Mexico speak
out on discrimination and the way they
are treated
The Government of Mexico asked over 46,000 children and adolescents how they feel they
are treated. Findings revealed that 3 per cent of children experience physical violence by
a family member on a daily basis.
WHY: Position children’s voices to turn Through opinion polls, the Government wants
them into actions to understand the perspectives of children and
adolescents on their rights, in order to develop new
Violence against children in Mexico is a determining
ideas for programmes and policies. By using OpiNNA,
factor in school drop-outs and even a significant
SIPINNA wants to integrate the voices of children and
cause of child deaths.85 2017 figures from the
adolescents into decision-making processes so they
Organization for Economic Co-operation and
can be heard and influence public actions.
Development (OECD) ranked Mexico, out of all 37
member-countries of the organization, as the country
WHAT: Opinion polls to collect children’s
with the highest rates of physical violence, sexual
views and experiences
abuse and homicides against children under 14.
OpiNNA is an opinion poll system used to collect
In 2014, Mexico launched a ‘General Law on Children the views and opinions of children and adolescents
and Adolescent Rights’, which was followed by the through web-based channels, and occasionally
establishment of a new child protection system Facebook and Twitter (for children older than 13).
in 2015. This required the activation of child In 2017, OpiNNA engaged Mexican children aged
participation mechanisms throughout government 6 to 17 from different parts of the country86 (1 per
structures. To meet this need, the country’s Sistema cent of whom were not in school), via adult-led and
Nacional de Protección Integral de Niñas, Niños implemented opinion polls. Over 27,000 children
y Adolescentes (SIPINNA), meaning the National shared their views on discrimination, and over 46,000
System for the Comprehensive Protection of Children on how they were treated by adults.87 Their main
and Adolescents, initiated a polling system to form of involvement was responding to opinion polls.
encourage child participation and collect quantitative
data directly from children themselves. HOW: Responding to online polls
OpiNNA uses ‘Participa’, a software designed
specifically for online opinion polls. Children go
online and choose to answer a poll. When doing
so, they provide their age, gender and location. PrendeMx, the Government’s Education Secretariat,
All information is anonymous and confidential. which is responsible for promoting these activities.
Occasionally, other channels are activated, such as
UNICEF’s U-Report88, which works through Facebook RESULTS: Three per cent of children are
and Twitter with children older than 13, but SIPINNA’s victims of corporal punishment on a daily
official channel is its website.89 Results are not basis
displayed in real time. They are collected by SIPINNA Opinion poll findings revealed that 3 per cent of
and published online once systematized. Results are children and adolescents responding to the poll
also shared with children through social networks experience corporal punishment by a family member
and programme partners. every day, that 63 per cent sometimes experience
such violence, and 34 per cent never. One in two
The entire system is built online. However, in order children agree that some kind of peer-to-peer
to engage out-of-school children, who may not discrimination occurs on a daily basis in their schools.
have access to the Internet, SIPINNA partnered In all, 40 per cent of participants believe that the
with CONAFE (the National Council for Educational victims of discrimination are mainly those children
Development) to promote the polls through their who have a different skin colour, 24 per cent children
community instructors in the field. When they visit with disabilities, and 16 per cent children from
households in isolated communities, they invite indigenous backgrounds.
children and adolescents living in those households
to answer the polls and enable their smartphones ACHIEVEMENTS AND OUTCOMES: A
or tablets so that they can do so. Workers explain to potential contribution to efforts to end all
the children that their data are confidential, and then forms of violence against children
leave them to answer the questions by themselves. The opinion polls did not serve a particular advocacy
goal, other than SIPINNA’s overall efforts to end all
Children have not been involved in designing, forms of violence against children in Mexico, and
leading, or evaluating this participation experience, concrete achievements have yet to be accomplished.
although a small group of adolescents (approximately
50, one or two representing each state, and all The findings have been shared with the authorities to
of them members of a network of organized inform child protection programmes, but it remains
children) contributed suggestions to poll wording to be seen how they have been used to influence
and structure. The connection with the children’s policies (poll results were issued shortly before the
ecosystem is mostly through schools, building upon publication of this report). Corporal punishment
the Government’s existing connections with the poll results were presented to Mexico’s National
school system. Committee for Ending all Forms of Violence Against
Children.
The two main outreach strategies that encourage
children to respond to opinion polls are existing SIPINNA has not continued to engage with children in
government structures connected to schools and relation to this participation initiative, as the opinion
project partners whose role is to amplify, and even polls are one-time events (although the goal is for
duplicate the opinion polls via their own websites or OpiNNA to become an ongoing activity).
participation channels if available. Both children and
90
teachers are notified of new opinion polls through @
CHALLENGES: Children need to be more KEY TAKEAWAYS: Moving towards
actively involved participation that is institutionalized
The main barrier has been reaching out-of-school The Government of Mexico is sending a strong
children, who make up approximately 20 per cent of message about children’s participation in preventing
Mexican children, according to information provided and reporting different forms of violence. Although
by SIPINNA. SIPINNA itself has also identified concrete achievements have yet to emerge, by
the following challenges: involving children and encouraging children to share their views and
adolescents in designing opinion polls and the issues opinions, SIPINNA is gradually moving towards the
selected for polls (the polls today are designed and institutionalization of participation, and sending a
implemented by adults); promoting OpiNNA directly clear message to decision makers about programmes
with children and adolescents and not through and policies that affect children: they need to be part
adults; delivering child-friendly information to of the solution.
participants and to organized children’s networks;
a clearer advocacy strategy related to poll results;
an evaluation phase and children’s involvement
in evaluation; training teachers; and activating
awareness-raising actions and campaigns.
Conclusions and recommendations
This report has explored a diverse range of child 1. The child participation paradigm is evolving
participation experiences, which vary in the models, There is a shift in the paradigm around child
structures and channels used, their outreach methods, participation, which is evolving from ‘let’s hear
and the forms of violence they have addressed. what children have to say’, to ‘let’s enable children
Regardless of the differences between them, they all to identify problems, make decisions, challenge
enable children, adolescents and youth to express others when necessary, and mobilize a range
their views and opinions to influence decision making of partners, from decision makers to their own
and achieve change. What change looks like varies peers.’ Where adults were once the gatekeepers
from one experience to another: global approaches of participation, children today — who have been
have the potential to impact on millions of lives, yet raised with the protection of the UN Convention
political timetables mean that their achievements are of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the
most likely to become more tangible further down the development of ICTs — are increasingly their
line. Community-based approaches, however, seem to own gatekeepers too. We are seeing that if adults
have a more immediate impact. do not address certain issues, such as school
shootings or child marriage, children are doing so
The most successful of these participation experiences by creating their own movements.
gave children significant roles as designers and/or
leaders of the projects, encouraged children to identify One underpinning principle related to this
the issues that affected them by reflecting upon their paradigm shift is the way adults and children
surroundings, and were founded on a peer-to-peer relate to power and control. Power is the capacity
model. They generated concrete achievements, and to direct or influence the behaviour of others or
children continued to engage, even after the projects the course of events, and, within the framework of
ended. child participation, it is more commonly exercised
by adults. Parents, teachers, guardians and
Some made good use of ICTs to collect quantitative decision makers are usually the ones to encourage
and qualitative data, adapted to children’s existing children and to redirect or influence their
communication channels and ecosystems, and behaviour towards participation exercises. And
designed innovative approaches to child participation. when power is exercised solely by adults, children
may be the ‘beneficiaries’ of participation, but they
Seven key conclusions and recommendations emerge are certainly not driving it.
from our analysis.
FIGURE 2
CHILDREN AS CHILDREN AS CHILDREN AS

BENEFICIARIES PARTNERS LEADERS
POWER
CHILDREN HAVE
LISTENING
REAL
TO
DECISION
CHILDREN
MAKING POWER
Power is not unlimited: it is a continuum where initiatives tend to be more top down, with limited
multiple actors can share different degrees of sharing and transferring of power to children,
control. And these degrees of control are critical whose role often is often restricted to that of data
when we talk about the paradigm shift in child providers.
participation: when children make decisions,
challenge adult structures, invite their peers, etc., The experiences show that when children and
they are exercising a certain level of power. This adolescents are provided with a safe space and a
means that adults are sharing control with children way to take a leading role in participation, they are
and transferring power to them. eager to make the most of it. Yet many participation
approaches come with restricted structures and
When adults transfer power, they should not limited space for children to influence the model:
abandon children to make decisions by themselves. there is a disconnect between how empowered
They need to partner with them, assuming a children actually are and the means they have
guiding and protective role, while respecting at their disposal to make their participation a
children’s autonomy and decision-making space. reality. Organizations that are adapting to the
When power is transferred to children, adults invite new paradigm have stepped aside to make room
them as project partners or leaders, as shown in for children to lead and make decisions, while
Figure 2. renouncing different levels of control and power
that currently lie within adult structures, as
This paradigm shift requires changes in processes demonstrated by the Participatory Action Research
for child participation. However, only a few of our (PAR) programme in Syria.
case studies seem to have adapted to this new
model to allow children to truly take the lead Organizations that are adapting to the new
without adults trying to maintain different levels of paradigm have stepped aside to make room
control and power. for children to lead and make decisions, while
renouncing different levels of control and power
Our 10 case studies suggest that processes that that currently lie within adult structures, as
are driven by non-governmental actors are more demonstrated by the Participatory Action Research
open to sharing or transferring the power held by (PAR) programme in Syria (Box 1).
adults to children. In contrast, government-driven
Box 1: ACTION RESEARCH BY ADOLESCENTS AND YOUTH IN SYRIA
In August 2016, through its Participatory Action Research (PAR) programme, UNICEF Syria engaged 11
adolescents and youth as a group of young researchers to identify and determine the issues of greatest
relevance to themselves and their peers. The findings were used by this same group to shape their
advocacy work, and also by UNICEF Syria to inform its programme approach on Water Sanitation and
Hygiene (WaSH), Gender and Child Protection.
The initial group of researchers expanded to become a larger gathering of children and youth who have
designed and led a number of activities on child labour, the promotion of peace and social cohesion,
gender-based violence, WaSH and employment. As of June 2018, they had engaged more than 1,300
people through their “‫ كمالس نع رّبع‬Express Your Peace Homs” Facebook page, and had reached more than
12,000 people in rural Hama with messages and information on gender-based violence, and over 9,000
with WASH information, including people in remote areas.
One of their measures to prevent different forms of violence has been bridging job opportunities with
young people’s needs, as PAR findings showed that 64 per cent of participants lack job opportunities
because of high unemployment rates. Through a self-created platform, they have helped 300 young
people find employment.
While the PAR programme does not feature as one of the 10 case studies in this report, it remains an
excellent example of the transfer of decision-making power to young people, enabling them to shape their
advocacy work and become agents of change. They received the information, guidance and support they
needed from UNICEF Syria, while having full autonomy to shape the roadmap of their work.
Where power has been transferred to children, it exempt them from their responsibility to protect
has resulted in concrete achievements. In Malawi, and guide children in the process. To promote truly
for example, girls managed to ban harmful sexual meaningful participation, adults need to trust children
practices in 184 villages; in India, more than 10 in making decisions and give up at least some of their
villages declared themselves child-marriage free control — as power is limited — so that children can
and toilet facilities to help girls attend school and act as problem identifiers, intervention designers,
prevent violence were installed in 64 schools; and in implementers, subjects of research and more.
Guatemala two violence observatory centres were
established. 2. Children need to lead. It is not enough to be
involved
Conventional participation models have helped Most of the organizations profiled in our 10 case
children understand that they have a right to speak studies did not assign a leading role to children;
up, but as we mark 30 years of the UNCRC it is time they were either partners or beneficiaries. In the
to take participation models further and be willing few cases where children were allowed leadership
to share power so that children’s views, opinions, roles during initiation and planning, it resulted in
and decisions are taken seriously. concrete achievements.
Recommendation: Adults need to share or even transfer Children decided to organize themselves and
power to children, understanding that this does not pursued further community engagement through
peer-to-peer mobilization as well as other which, in turn, leads to stronger engagement and
programme interventions. accountability.
Children who were empowered to take the lead, 3. Few of the child participation experiences
such as working children’s representatives, had outlined in our case studies encouraged children
interactions with municipal authorities, and to identify the issues they wanted to address
the local officials have made commitments to Most of the implementing organizations came
consult them more regularly and involve them to the project with a ready-made agenda for
in practice, as well as policy developments that change, and invited children to provide data,
affect them. Children in Malawi, Guatemala, help mobilize others, or campaign to support
India, Tanzania and Nigeria who have taken the an advocacy purpose that had already been
lead have been able to see the concrete results selected.
of their efforts. Because Girl Effect involved girls
as leaders during a very early design phase of its It is commonly the case that adults and
project, the organization is now using a software children have different roles to play during child
designed by girls, for girls, where any girl — participation events. The usual process is that
regardless of her literacy level — can become adults invite children to provide their views and
a Technology Enabled Girl Ambassador (TEGA), opinions on issues that the adults have already
part of a larger community, and an economically identified as critical in children lives. Very few of
empowered certified researcher, and help other the experiences analyzed in this report modified
girls and boys in her community improve their these roles. Those that did provide children with
lives. TEGAs have been given a strong sense of access to information, training, reflection spaces
ownership, and when people have a sense of and the ability to identify the most pressing
ownership of what they are doing, they naturally issues in their own lives.
feel more engaged and more accountable.
Where children had the tools to reflect upon
Leading their own advocacy and mobilization their surroundings and identify their problems,
work, girls in Malawi used their own stories as a they experienced concrete achievements, as they
powerful data source to convince local authorities had a personal drive to participate. In Guatemala,
to ban child marriage: and it worked. In Malaysia, for example, girls analyzed their context and
students who took the lead suggested their surroundings and identified the high rates of
own solutions to bullying within their school sexual and gender-based violence experienced
communities. by themselves and their peers on a daily basis.
They were then provided with information on
Recommendation: Organizations need to include latest national statistics, trained on sexual-
children at the earliest possible stage – aiming for violence protocols, advocacy and mobilization,
child-initiated and child-led approaches – and trust and more. But the crucial point was that they
them with leading roles during initiation, planning, were first given a chance to reflect and see where
implementation and evaluation. Child participation the problems lay. This resulted in the creation
must be part of the ‘fabric’ of the model, ensuring of two violence observatory centres, to which
that children feel ownership over the process, over 700 girls and 1,000 women have already
been referred, and in the training of national
Box 2: ZERO TOLERANCE CAMPAIGN TO REDUCE VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN IN BENIN
UNICEF Benin has been implementing an active Zero Tolerance Campaign to reduce violence against
children, focusing on child marriage. UNICEF first approached young activist and youth organizations,
encouraging them to reflect on the most pressing issues related to violence against children in the country.
They themselves identified their own advocacy priorities.
The results of this process coincided with the development of UNICEF’s own analysis. Since consulting the
youth activists, UNICEF has supported the National Youth Platform established in June 2016, composed
of more than 50 different youth-led organizations. The platform has helped to trigger a national social
movement to end violence against children, and 300 young people have been trained to act as ‘Zero
Tolerance champions’ within their associations and communities.
Following the launch of this massive campaign, which has resulted in an increase of reported cases of
violence against children to the authorities, UNICEF has seen that children are starting to report being
victims of violence, something once unheard of in Benin. UNICEF has even received letters from children
reporting child marriage in some parts of the country, which have been referred to the relevant services.
authorities by girls to better prevent and respond The peer-to-peer strategy seems to provide an
to gender-based violence. understanding and supportive environment,
building on strong social and emotional
Recommendation: Adults need to connect to connections.91 Peers can be positive role
children’s personal motivations for achieving change, models, seeming less threatening in hostile
and should focus their own role on being facilitators, environments,92 and provide a higher level of
providing children with the information they need credibility. And the peer-to-peer approach in child
to identify their priority issues, and then the tools participation is very similar to what is known
to mobilize others and reach decision makers. as peer education, founded “on the reality that
Implementing organizations should invest time and many people make changes not only based on
resources in inviting children to reflect upon their what they know, but on the opinions and actions
surroundings so they can identify what it is that is of their close, trusted peers. Peer educators can
affecting them or their peers. It is also crucial for communicate and understand in a way that the
child rights organizations to trust children during best-intentioned adults can’t and can serve as
this process and provide all the needed resources as role models for change.”93
facilitators. If children feel that the adults do not trust
them, then they will probably not trust their own Most of the experiences outlined in this report
ability to participate and will not mobilize themselves demonstrated the power of peer-to-peer
or their peers to achieve change. models, and the importance of reducing the age
difference between children and those inviting
4. Children engage with other children in all them to engage. In other words, children are
areas of their lives and, in general, trust more inclined to participate when approached
other children or youth. Most participation by someone of a similar age. Many of the
experiences capitalized on, and benefited from, experiences were founded on youth being the
peer-to-peer engagement. ones to invite children to take part, confirming
that children might feel closer to them than to invite their peers to (almost) anything. The
to more mature adults. Lowering the age gap power behind the ‘share’ option on any app
between facilitators and participants seems to be is enormous, but it depends on trust. Just as
a real benefit of peer-to-peer approaches. children trust other children, adults need to trust
them too. But do they? Only a few experiences
Using a peer-to-peer approach, TEGAs have trusted children with communication strategies,
collected completely new data by encouraging and fewer gave children leading roles.
girls to open up to other girls. They have shown
how, until now, silenced girls have endured Recommendation: Peer-to-peer approaches have
different forms of violence. U-Report has a critical role in child participation, and they work
engaged over 5 million children and adolescents because humans trust other humans who are going
worldwide through UNICEF’s partnerships with through similar experiences. That is true for children
youth organizations, and U-Reporters themselves as well as adults. If adults are to create effective
invite their peers to join the system. Restless peer-to-peer approaches, they need to trust children.
Development Tanzania has mobilized over 10,000 They must treat them as partners with a collective
adolescents through sexual reproductive health advocacy purpose.
and rights education. The models of IGLYO and
Rise Up are also founded on a peer-to-peer Implementing organizations need to know that
approach. children will play different roles within a single
initiative, and that each role has its own value. Being
Organizations that work for children also need able to engage others has proved to be vital, but
to ask themselves what the peer-to-peer if children are going to engage other children, and
situation will look like in the coming years, given invite their peers in, they need to see value in what
the expected growth of access to the Internet. they are doing. Children need to own their own
Physical and emotional connections will always issues, as well as the strategies to address them,
remain, but when they consider the rapid growth so that they feel empowered enough to invite their
of ICTs, rights-based entities should remember peers to join the same experience.
the power of digital communication for peer-to-
peer engagement. Implementing organizations should reflect upon how
far they have trusted children in the past, and how
The offline behaviour based on trust is also children have perceived that level of trust. Telling
mirrored in the online world: content goes them they will be listened to is not enough. They
viral because people trust those who are close need to know that this is their battle too.
to them. If a person receives the same digital
content from a peer and from a stranger, they are 5. Most experiences resulted in the engagement
more likely to open the one sent by their peer. of children beyond the timeframe or goal of the
project
In countries with high rates of Internet In some cases, longer-term engagement was
penetration, ICTs are already an extremely anticipated and planned. This was the case for
powerful tool for peer-to-peer engagement. Restless Development, which created youth or
WhatsApp, Instagram, Viber and Facebook groups teen clubs in both India and Tanzania where
– to name a few – enable today’s adolescents children could meet and work on their own
advocacy goals and projects. Anticipating that activities, organizations should: aim for extended
participation would leave children feeling engagement; plan their activity beyond an isolated
empowered, they facilitated safe spaces where event; utilize other available means for children to
children could continue their participation as fully channel their continued engagement; incorporate
as possible. children into decisions about how they would like to
communicate or stay engaged; and capitalize on ICTs
Our case studies tell us that continuing as a way to keep communication channels open.
participation is unlikely when children’s role
is limited to that of data providers. This was 6. Few of the analyzed experiences used ICTs to
seen, for example, in one-way opinion polls. In their full potential
contrast, when children were empowered by Many initiatives incorporated ICTs or
their participation, this led to widespread and technological elements, but only a minority
continuing engagement. relied strongly on the advantages or additional
benefits ICTs can provide. Most of them trusted
Engaged children developed their own offline strategies to achieve change, and of
communities and movements, some still those that did use ICTs, that use was generally
advocate for change, some have implemented limited to data collection. The case studies also
their solutions to bullying and some have started demonstrate that, in some cases, the use of ICTs
clubs. When children are taken seriously, they was not considered part of the participation
take themselves seriously too. approach. Children themselves, however,
incorporated them for continuing participation
Some engaged children have used social and engagement.
networks and other Internet-based channels
to either communicate between themselves This opens up an interesting question: when
or engage their peers. This was the case for children incorporate the use of ICTs as an
organized working children and child advisory additional way to engage with participation
committee members from It’s Time to Talk! models that have already been designed, are they
who have continued to advocate for improved in some way owning these and taking control of
policies and are using different channels to share participation? Is this also a way to shift adult-
information with other children who were not centered power structures? If the use of ICTs
part of the participation project. Across our case is a gateway to shifts in decision-making, and
studies, it was common for children themselves children have a more direct way to influence
to decide on how best to channel their prolonged power, change no longer relies solely on decision
engagement and activism. makers, and children do not need adults to act
as intermediaries for their participation. By
Recommendation: A comprehensive child incorporating social networks, messaging apps or
participation model should, ultimately, be an other digital tools, children are taking control of a
empowering tool and experience, and should not end territory that may be more familiar to them than
when children have provided adults with what they it is to adults.
want. It will end on the children’s own terms, and
adults need to be prepared to stretch participation Recommendation: The world is going through a
opportunities. When planning child participation technological revolution, with all its positive and
FIGURE 3: DIGITAL PRINCIPLES FOR DEVELOPMENT
negative impacts for children. Governments, civil ago, international development organizations
society, UN agencies and any other child rights-based began seeking new ways of including digital tools
organization need to adapt to this reality when it in their programming for improved outcomes.
comes to child participation. Incorporating ICTs to These efforts were initially quite successful;
their full potential is crucial to any project that wants significant advancements occurred in various
to remain relevant. Implementing organizations sectors such as health and agriculture, more
should look at the benefits provided by ICTs beyond communities around the globe were connected,
the sphere of quantitative data collection. and underserved populations were reached in a
way that had not been possible before”.97
7. The experiences analyzed in this report applied
and respected child participation practice Drawing on our case studies, we have concluded
standards94 that a digital generation requires digital
Initiatives with a strong ICT component require standards, and that child participation should
the application of additional standards when be no exception. Our case studies suggest that
planning and implementing child participation. most of the principles that follow have had some
We concluded that these agree with what success:
are today known as the ‘principles for digital
development’.95 International organizations Design with the user: User-centred design
have agreed on the set of nine principles starts with getting to know the people who are
shown in Figure 3 – a set that may change supposed to benefit from a project. In this case,
over time as they are constantly reviewed, who knows and understands children better than
updated, and modified for different contexts children themselves? Many of the participation
and environments. The nine principles represent experiences reviewed in this report were initiated
guidelines to help practitioners succeed in by adults, but later designed in collaboration with
applying digital technologies to development children and/or youth. TEGA, Rise Up, Restless
programmes. Although they have been designed Development, Time to talk!, IGLYO, U-Report, and
for digital technologies, the principles for digital #Stand Together all designed their approaches in
development may be applied to offline as well as collaboration with children, some with a deeper
online approaches. They will help organizations level of engagement than others. Organizations
meet the needs and standards expected by actively involved children when designing child
children today and tomorrow. 96
participation models, and children’s ideas and
suggestions were a determining factor.
These principles state that: “With the advent of
accessible digital technology more than a decade
Box 3: LOVEDOCTOR
LoveDoctor is a counselling service that uses a channel on Snapchat, a popular social network where
users share text, video, photos and drawings, but where messages are erased from the system after a few
seconds. In the words of the app’s CEO, “Snapchat isn’t about capturing the traditional Kodak moment.
It’s about communicating with the full range of human emotion — not just what appears to be pretty or
perfect”.
LoveDoctor is a way to replicate offline ‘real emotions’ through an online social network. LoveDoctor
has implemented a real-time service for children and adolescents where they can receive counselling on
violence and sexual abuse via Snapchat Direct Messages, first in India, and then in other countries.
Snap Counsellors — the implementing body — saw that adolescents were not reporting violence or abuse
because they were afraid their partner or perpetrators would find out, and launched LoveDoctor with
volunteer counsellors. The programme has provided total anonymity and confidentiality, using the most
popular social network for adolescents in the country, which has encouraged young audiences to use it
and break the silence, confident that their messages will be erased from the system after the chat session.
Within its first year, Snap Counsellors were able to help over 800 adolescents directly, most of them from
India, but also Colombia, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, the UK and the United States, as
the channel grew in popularity.
Understand the existing ecosystem: “Children name a few), and U-Reporters choose the one
and young people’s participation cannot be they prefer. This has enabled the programme to
understood in isolation from social, cultural expand to reach more than 40 countries, and
and political contexts when it occurs”, and
98
over 5 million registered users. Dedicating time
well-designed initiatives need to consider and resources to analyze the ecosystem helps
the particular structures that already exist in to ensure that the selected approach will be
each community. Understanding the existing relevant and sustainable,99 which is particularly
ecosystem involves bending adult power and important for encouraging child engagement
organizational structures: if adults expect children beyond an isolated participation event.
to engage in child participation, the models and
methods used need to adapt easily to children’s And digital ecosystems are critical: implementing
contexts, needs and channels, and not the other bodies need to be looking closely at the digital
way around. means that children and adolescents use (and the
trends to understand, such as the ones they will
By understanding the context and cultural be using in five years) and find a way to engage
barriers faced by adolescent girls in the global and protect children through them.
south, Girl Effect could develop a technology to
gather qualitative and quantitative data from a Design for Scale “means thinking beyond the pilot
demographic that had not, till then, had a voice. and making choices that will enable widespread
U-Report offers adolescents and youth different adoption later, as well as determining what will
channels to communicate with the programme be affordable and usable by a whole country or
(Facebook messenger, Telegram, SMS, Viber, to region, rather than by a few pilot communities”.100
This is critical for organizations that want to which they collect data. U-Report, for example,
implement child participation models using ICTs, collects data from adolescents and youth in
and they should invest in analyzing trends and real time, and results are displayed on each
digital communities. country website, enabling immediate actions or
responses. TEGAs collect both qualitative and
It is important to know where children are now, quantitative data via videos and other means
but also where they will be in five years. Will that contribute emotional components and body
they still be using social networks? If so, which language. Restless Development India collects
ones? How will they choose to participate? Will quantitative data through specially designed
they prefer to send audio or video clips rather software, enabling the organization to evaluate
than texting a response? All of these questions its work on an ongoing basis. Using a data-driven
matter for implementing bodies that aim to approach, IGLYO compiled a set of indicators to
anticipate where child audiences will be, so they measure the inclusivity of education programmes
can design for scale. U-Report is a good example across Europe and help prevent discrimination
of a project that is designed to scale: The against LGBTQI children. Both government-
technology, RapidPro, is constantly updated so it driven experiences collected quantitative data
is compatible with Internet trends, understanding from children to use as reference points when
the meaning of emojis in communication, and implementing policies.
incorporating features such as images and videos.
It is worth noting that some of these
Build for sustainability, particularly if one of organizations seem to be moving from big
the aims for child participation practices is to data (voluminous amounts of structured or
encourage children to become active agents unstructured data) to deep data (high quality,
of change, and not just data providers. “A actionable information). This reflects an
program built for sustainability is more likely to understanding that numbers are not always
be embedded into policies, daily practices and enough, and that data need to reflect children’s
user workflow”. 101
Restless Development’s model experiences, stories, fears, hopes and aspirations,
ensures sustainability through its youth clubs especially when the aim is to reflect upon,
in each community, so children can organize prevent and report violence. Today’s digital
themselves around the issues that concern them. technology makes it almost impossible not to
For example, creating decision-making spaces collect large amounts of data and information,
where children can wield a direct influence over and by taking that data a step further, we see a
programmes and policies in an institutionalized window of opportunity to truly understand what
manner could be the ultimate goal for sustainable children want, fear, expect and hope for… and all
child participation. in real time. Receiving deep insights on millions
of children in real time is a game changer for
Be data driven: in other words, use data to any child rights-based organization, with deep
achieve change. All the child participation information giving us a deeper connection to
experiences analyzed in this report have children.
collected valuable data to help protect children
against different forms of violence, yet some Address privacy and security. The privacy, safety
have unique ways to add value to the way in and protection of child participants must be the
top priority for any child participation initiative. organization and often many more, and a few
As noted, empowering children to take the included children and adolescents as equal
lead should not mean abandoning them. Child- partners. Implementing bodies should remember
rights organizations continue to have a duty to that children, working as equal partners in a
safeguard their well-being and ensure that their collaborative way, can contribute as much as
participation does no harm. any other relevant stakeholder to the project,
increasing outreach and impact. To name just one
Use open standards, open data and open example, by working collaboratively, youth and
innovation. There is no need to develop adolescents have helped 10 Panchayats in India
technology from scratch. Organizations that want declare themselves free of child marriage.
to implement child participation using ICTs should
look at already proven open-source solutions that Recommendation: Child participation models
could be deployed locally, such as RapidPro. 102
need to evolve according to children’s realities.
Governments, civil society, and other bodies need
Be collaborative. “Being collaborative means to adapt to today’s technological evolution so that
sharing information, insights, strategies, they can respond appropriately to children’s growing
and resources across projects, organizations expectations in a digital age; a digital generation
and sectors, leading to increased efficiency requires digital standards. Partners and stakeholders
and impact”. 103
We have seen that all of the should apply the Principles for Digital Development if
experiences analyzed in our case studies worked they want to take child participation one step further.
in collaboration with at least one partner
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UNICEF and Save the Children, Every child’s right to be heard: A resource guide on the UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child General Comment No. 12, United Kingdom, 2011. [https://www.unicef.org/french/
adolescence/files/Every_Childs_Right_to_be_Heard.pdf]
UNICEF Tanzania, ‘Children and AIDS’. [https://www.unicef.org/tanzania/children_aids.html]
UNESCO, School Violence and Bullying: global status report, Paris, 2017. [https://bangkok.unesco.org/content/
school-violence-and-bullying-global-status-report-0]
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Assembly Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989.
[https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx]
United Nations Secretary General, Protecting Children from Bullying, UN Documents, New York, 2017. [https://
violenceagainstchildren.un.org/content/protecting-children-bullying-report-secretary-general]
UN Special Representative Of The Secretary-General On Violence Against Children, ‘Protecting children from
bullying’, UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/158, adopted by the General Assembly, New York,
18 December 2014. [https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/69/158]
END-NOTES
1. Percy-Smith, Barry, and Nigel Thomas, A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation:
Perspectives from Theory and Practice, Routledge, United Kingdom, 2010, Page xx.
2. UNICEF, ‘What is the Convention of the Rights of the Child?’. [https://www.unicef.org/crc/index_73549.

html]
3. Percy-Smith, Barry, and Nigel Thomas, A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation.
4. Bessel, Sharon, and Nigel Spence, “Has 25 years of children’s rights made any difference?” DevPolicy
Blog, 20 November 2018. [https://www.devpolicy.org/has-25-years-of-childrens-rights-made-any-
difference-20141120/]
5. Save the Children, Practice Standards in Children´s Participation, United Kingdom, 2005.
6. Percy-Smith, Barry, and Nigel Thomas, A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation, p.11.
7. UNICEF and Save the Children, Every child’s right to be heard: A resource guide on the UN Committee on
the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 12, United Kingdom, 2011. [https://www.unicef.org/french/
8. UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 2003 (Child participation), New York, 2003. [https://www.
unicef.org/sowc/archive/ENGLISH/The%20State%20of%20the%20World%27s%20Children%202003.pdf]
9. Depending on the field, there are different ways of measuring a human generation, though the ranges
vary from 22 to 33 years.
10. Bessel, Sharon, and Nigel Spence, “Has 25 years of children’s rights made any difference?”
11. UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 2017: Children in a digital world, New York, 2017, p.16. [https://
www.unicef.org/publications/index_101992.html]
12. Ibid., p.1.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid., p.72
15. As evidenced by UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children Report 2017: “In Bulgaria, for example, the age
at which children first used the Internet was commonly 10 in 2010 but dropped to 7 by 2016. In China,
children under the age of 10 made up 2.9 percent of all Internet users in 2016, up from 2.7 per cent in
2015. In Brazil, the proportion of 9-and 10-year-olds using the Internet increased from 35 per cent in
2012 to 37 per cent in 2013.”
16. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and The World Bank, Digital Divends,
Washington DC, 2016.
17. GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communication), The Mobile Economy, London, United Kingdom, 2018.
18. Particularly in India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh, as well as sub-Saharan Africa and Latin
America (GSMA, 2018).
19. DeMers, Jayson, ‘7 Predictions on how the Internet will change in 15 years’, Blog, Forbes, 18 April 2016.
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2016/04/18/7-predictions-for-how-the-internet-will-
change-over-the-next-15-years/]
20. Pew Research Center and Elon University, Digital Life in 2025, March 2014. [https://www.pewresearch.
org/internet/2014/03/11/digital-life-in-2025/]
21. UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children 2017: Children in a digital world, p.30.
22. Inspired by the Nigerian example, the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth has initiated
this global campaign in partnership with UNDP, OHCHR, the IPU, YIAGA and the European Youth Forum
in order to convene existing efforts into a global movement and provide young people with a central
platform through which to advocate.
23. Livingstone, Sonia, Gerison Lansdown and Amanda Third, The Case for a UNCRC General Comment on
Children’s Rights and Digital Media, a report prepared for the Children’s Commissioner by LSE Consulting,
United Kingdom 2017.
24. Ibid.
25. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Assembly Resolution 44/25 of 20
November 1989. [https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx]
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. UNICEF and Save the Children, Every child’s right to be heard: A resource guide on the UN Committee on
the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 12, United Kingdom, 2011. [https://www.unicef.org/french/
30. Asker, Sally, and Anna Gero, The role of child and youth participation in development. A literature Review,
Institute for Sustainable Futures at University Technology and ChildFund Australia, Sydney, 2012.
31. International Labour Organization, Global Estimates of Child Labour: Results and Trends 2012 – 2016,
Geneva, 2017. [https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_575499/lang--en/index.htm]
32. International Labour Organization, ‘What is Child Labour?’. [http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.

htm]
33. International Labour Organization, Global Estimates of Child Labour: Results and Trends 2012 – 2016.
34. O’Kane, Claire, Ornella Barros and Nicolas Meslaoui, It’s time to talk! Children’s Views on Children’s
Work, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Kinder not hilfe, Terre de Hommes,
Germany 2017.
35. Fifty-two per cent girls, 48 per cent boys, from rural, small town, big city, and IDP/refugee camps. Thirty-
two per cent of children consulted were from Asia, 29 per cent from Latin America, 27 per cent from
Africa, 8 per cent from the Middle East, and 4 per cent from Europe. Consulted children were engaged in
a diverse range of paid and unpaid work in urban and rural settings, and the majority worked before and/
or after school. They came from diverse backgrounds and included children with disabilities, living with
different caregivers, from ethnic and indigenous minorities, children from migrant families, child refugees,
children who were internally displaced, and stateless children. Nineteen per cent were members of
organized working children’s associations.
36. Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Costa Rica. Ecuador, Ethiopia, Germany,
Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo (UNSC 1244), Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mali, Mexico,
Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, Tanzania,
Thailand, Turkey, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
37. In Bolivia, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Nepal, Peru, Senegal and Thailand.
38. Child-led actions took place in Costa Rica, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Peru and the
Philippines.
39. Their tasks included pilot testing the consultation tools and giving suggestions for improving them;
exploring opportunities for CAC members to participate in the project and any further training needed;
identifying options for children’s involvement in the preparatory process leading up to the IV Global
Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labor (2017), as well as options for meaningful
participation during the conference; supporting consultations with working children in their country;
helping to explore the reasons and motivations to work, as well as existing policies, laws and approaches;
action planning for joint advocacy and action initiatives at local levels in order to share the consultations
workshops’ key findings; supporting the analysis of key findings from child consultations around the
world, with a special focus on protection and risk factors; reviewing and giving feedback on the main
findings; helping to develop recommendations for different groups of adults to improve the lives of
working children; and giving advice and supporting the development of presentations and child-friendly
reports.
40. Particular efforts were made by the project organizers to be inclusive and to collaborate both with existing
associations and movements of organized working children, and to collaborate with working children
who had not previously been organized. Active participation of girls and boys was encouraged, and some
CACs specifically engaged working children who were refugees (e.g. in Lebanon), stateless children (e.g. in
Thailand), and ethnic minority groups (e.g. Roma children in Kosovo).
41. UNICEF, ‘U-Report. Ensuring the voices of young people are heard’, South Africa, 2017 [https://www.
unicef.org/southafrica/SAF_brief_ureport.pdf]
42. UN Special Representative Of The Secretary-General On Violence Against Children, ‘Protecting children from
bullying’, UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/69/158, adopted by the General Assembly, New York,
18 December 2014. [https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/69/158]
43. Partners vary from one country to another including NGOs, youth networks, government, and the private
sector. The programme’s global partners are the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and the
World Organization of the Scout Movement.
44. U-Reporters responded from Burkina Faso, Chile, Guinea, Indonesia, Ireland, Liberia, Malaysia, Mali,
Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Uganda, Ukraine, Zambia, as
well as 477 respondents from other countries via the U-Report Global handle.
45. The option of confidentiality enables and empowers young people to speak out and report, ask questions
and seek information they may otherwise be too embarrassed or afraid to report or seek.
46. That decision making is based on certain criteria e.g. how relevant the steering committee find the
request, their engagement calendar, if the country has already recently discussed this issue, and whether
or not young people believe that by participating their voice will be heard.
47. Burkina Faso, Chile, Guinea, Indonesia, Ireland, Liberia, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Uganda, Ukraine, Zambia, plus U-Report’s global version
representing adolescents and youth from over 40 countries.
48. This is the author’s speculation upon poll results.
49. In response to the UN General Assembly resolution 69/158.
50. United Nations Secretary General, Protecting Children from Bullying, UN Documents, New York, 2017.
[https://violenceagainstchildren.un.org/content/protecting-children-bullying-report-secretary-general]
51. Official data on vital statistics from Guatemala’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística (National Statistics
Institute), 2018.
52. UNICEF Malawi, ‘The Child Marriage Factsheet’, July 2018. [https://wcmsprod.unicef.org/malawi/
reports/child-marriage-factsheet]
53. Specifically, in the ‘Protocol of Care for Victims/Survivors of Sexual Violence (Protocolo de Atención
a Víctimas/Sobrevivientes de Violencia Sexual)’, which was created in 2009 and approved by the
Guatemalan Government with national reach. The national Protocol activates an inter-institutional
response that must be followed by government agencies when sexual violence cases are identified. This
response ensures that medical, psychological and social services are made available to the survivors, and
that there is a link with the justice system.
54. TEGAs are recruited through local partners. Girl Effect’s criteria for choosing a local partner requires these
organizations to be experts on working with girls, as well as having an excellent relationship with the
target community. The program has seen that being part of a network and having a voice are important
incentives for becoming a TEGA, as they acquire new friends, skills, and sense of confidence.
55. All the interviews serve specific needs, as data is requested by partner organizations who are
contractually committed to act upon findings and provide an impact report back to Girl Effect.
56. Gamification is the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with
others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage
engagement with a product or service. Gamification is an effective tactic to use with apps, as these
elements capture the user’s attention, motivation and engagement.
57. UNESCO, School Violence and Bullying: global status report, Paris, 2017. [https://bangkok.unesco.org/
content/school-violence-and-bullying-global-status-report-0]
58. Ibid.
59. IGLYO, ‘IGLYO Launches LGBTQI Inclusive Education Index & Report’, 13 May, 2018 [http://www.iglyo.
com/iglyo-launches-lgbtqi-inclusive-education-index-report/]
60. Gobierno de Chile, Subsecretaría de la Prevención del Delito, ‘Primera Encuesta Nacional de Poli-
victimización en Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes, Subsecretaría de prevención del delito’, Santiago de Chile,
2018.
61. Gobierno de Chile, Subsecretaría de la Prevención del Delito, ‘Encuesta Nacional de Violencia en el
Ámbito Escolar’, Santiago de Chile, 2014.
62. (UNDP) United Nations Develpment Fund Chile, Corporación Opción, UNICEF Chile, Organización de
Estados Iberoamericanos, Fundación Integra.
63. ‘‘Diálogos regionales por la infancia y adolescencia’ (Regional dialogues for childhood and adolescence),
a community participatory activity implemented in each of the country’s ‘regions’ (15), a first-level
administrative geographical boundary inside the country.
64. For example, adapting short stories to local cultural contexts with younger children so they can better
understand. 2016 and 2017 versions took into consideration cultural differences within the country and
suggested multiple adaptations of the methodology depending on geographic location.
65. 2015: participation, respect, and progressive autonomy; 2016: values, institutional rights, responsibilities;
2017: SDGs.
66. A lesson learned from the methodology implemented during 2015 was the need for cultural awareness
and content adaptation. It was a common problem that, for example, a child from the south of the
country could not relate to a story featuring problems from the north, or a child living a rural area not
understanding content related to a child living in the city. Adult’s roles as facilitators were critical.
67. When prioritized, SDGs were grouped on the basis of issue. One of these groups comprised the SDGs
directly affecting people.
68. A region is the first Chilean geographical boundary (there are a total of 15 regions in the country).
69. Throughout all three years Yo Opino was implemented, results were used on a regular basis by the
National Council for Children to inform its general work.
70. From 54 per cent in 1992-93 to 27 per cent in 2016, according to UNICEF India, ‘Child Marriage’. [http://
unicef.in/Whatwedo/30/Child-Marriage]
71. Ibid.
72. The Panchayat is a form of local government, where each village is responsible for its own affairs.
They are institutions established as the lowest form of governance as per the Constitution of India.
Approximately 100,000 people live in one Panchayat.
73. Restless Development’s young volunteers have reached over 182,000 girls and over 105,000 boys,
providing life skills on sexual reproductive health and rights. Classroom sessions are delivered by their
volunteers regularly.
74. Legal and Human Rights Centre & Zanzibar Legal Services Centre, ‘Unknown Assailants’: A Threat to
human rights. Tanzania Human Rights report 2017, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, 2017. [https://www.
humanrights.or.tz/assets/attachments/1524659401.pdf]
75. Ibid.
76. UNICEF Tanzania, ‘Children and AIDS’. [https://www.unicef.org/tanzania/children_aids.html]
78. Further explained in this report, U-Report is an instant messaging engagement tool run by UNICEF in
over 40 countries. Through different mobile and/or internet-based channels, UNICEF and partners send
opinion polls to children and adolescents on diverse issues. Responses are collected in real time, and
automatically aggregated and published on a website.
79. Opinion poll conducted by U-Report Malaysia on 1,260 adolescents and youth.
80. With the backing of the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, this nationwide campaign is a multisectoral
collaboration led by RAGE, the youth reporting division of Star Media Group, with support from corporate
companies such as SP Setia, Digi Telecommunications and Petrosains, together with nonprofits such as
Teach for Malaysia, 100 per cent Project, StudyHub Asia and the Rotary Club.
81. Cluster school is a brand given to a school identified as being excellent in its cluster from the aspects of
school administration and student achievement.
82. The submission form had four questions: What is your idea? Why does your school need this? What do
you want to achieve? How much will it cost?
83. Findings revealed that there’s optimism amongst those who have not been victims of bullying, as 74 per
cent said that if they were, they would report it to school authorities.
84. By 2030, to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable
development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and
sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence,
global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable
development.
85. UNICEF Mexico, ‘Protección a la niñez y adolescencia’. [https://www.unicef.org/mexico/spanish/

proteccion_6932.html]
86. Responses were received from all 32 states in the country, though most came from Veracruz, Puebla,
Tlaxcala, Estado de México, CDMX, Baja California, Nuevo Léon and Chiapas.
87. The number of participating children from both polls are not added up for this report, as each opinion
poll is unique and different from the other. The system does not identify when one respondent has also
responded to a previous poll.
88. U-Report is further explained as a separate case study later in this report.
89. Government of Mexico, ‘Participa con tu gobierno en línea’. [https://www.gob.mx/participa/inicio]
90. Project partners include UNICEF, Save the Children, World Vision, ChildFund, other government
departments, traditional media, and local civil society organizations.
91. My-Peer, ‘What are the benefits? The benefits of peer-based approaches’. [http://mypeer.org.au/
planning/what-are-peer-based-programs/benefits/]
92. Ibid.
93. UNICEF, ‘Peer education’. [https://www.unicef.org/lifeskills/index_12078.html]
94. Save the children’s “Practice Standards in Children’s Participation” are recommended to ensure high
quality participation, while safeguarding and protecting children. As a general outlook these are: adult
organizations and workers are committed to ethical participatory practice and to the primacy of children’s
best interests, with transparency, honesty, and accountability; children’s participation is relevant and
voluntary; children experience a safe, child-friendly, welcoming and encouraging environment for their
participation; child participation promotes equality of opportunity and does not reinforce existing
patterns of discrimination and exclusion; adult staff and managers involved in supporting/ facilitating
children’s participation are effective and confident, and have been trained and supported to do their jobs
to a high standard; participation promotes the safety and protection of children, and child protection
policies and procedures should always be applied; there should be a commitment to provide feedback
and/or follow-up and to evaluate the quality and impact of children’s participation. These practice
standards describe the expected level of performance to ensure consistent, high quality participation
practice.
95. Digital Principles for Development [https://digitalprinciples]
96. Original icons in Digital Principles for Development.
97. Digital Principles for Development.
98. Percy-Smith, Barry, and Nigel Thomas, A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation, p.357.
100. Ibid.
102. Open source technology or software, is software in which the source code used to create the program
is freely available for the public to view, edit, and redistribute. Anyone could use the code to deploy a
similar project.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children
is an independent global advocate in favour of the prevention and elimination
of all forms of violence against children, mobilizing action and political support
to achieve progress the world over. The mandate of SRSG is anchored in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights
instruments and framed by the UN Study on Violence against Children.
violenceagainstchildren.un.org
ISBN:978-92-1-101426-6
ISBN: 978-92-1-101334-4

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When children take the lead:

10 child participation approaches

Publication produced by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on

© 2020 United Nations

Printing: UNON, Publishing Services Section/Nairobi, ISO 14001:2004-Certified

A new and empowered generation

Children in an increasingly digital world

ABOUT THIS REPORT

TABLE 1: PARTICIPATION EXPERIENCES

EXPERIENCE GEOGRAPHIC FORM OF VIOLENCE TYPE OF IMPLEMENTING

U-Report Global Bullying UN Agency

IGLYO Regional (Europe) LGBTQI Discrimination Civil Society

Yo Opino Country (Chile) Discrimination Government

Restless Development Tanzania Country (Tanzania) GBV / SRHR Civil Society

Government, private sector, UN

OpniNNA Country (Mexico) VAC in working children Government

FIGURE 1: TYPE OF PARTICIPATION

©UN photo/Amanda Voisard

In collaboration with more than 50 non-governmental organizations, Kindernothilfe, Terre

©UN photo/Mark Garten

UNICEF also encourages country versions to include

©UN photo/Loey Felipe

©UN photo/Manuel Elias

The model also relies strongly on a peer-to-peer

Technology Enabled Girls Ambassadors (TEGA) is an innovative, participatory approach

With 95 member organizations in more than 40 European countries, IGLYO created

©UN photo/Eskinder Debebe

It also relies on a network structure and a peer-to-

IGLYO also empowers youth and adolescents to

Restless Development addresses child marriage and gender discrimination in three of

©Bashir Ahmed Sujan

©UN photo/Mark Garten

teachers are notified of new opinion polls through @

CHILDREN AS CHILDREN AS CHILDREN AS

Digital Principles for Development, Quoted:

Escolar’, Santiago de Chile, 2014.

Government of Mexico, ‘Participa con tu gobierno en línea’. [https://www.gob.mx/participa/inicio]

International Labour Organization, ‘What is Child Labour?’. [http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.htm]

UNICEF, ‘Peer education’. [https://www.unicef.org/lifeskills/index_12078.html]

UNICEF, ‘What is the Convention of the Rights of the Child?’. [https://www.unicef.org/crc/index_73549.html]

UNICEF India, ‘Child Marriage’. [http://unicef.in/Whatwedo/30/Child-Marriage]

UNICEF Malawi, ‘The Child Marriage Factsheet’, July 2018. [https://wcmsprod.unicef.org/malawi/reports/

UNICEF Mexico, ‘Protección a la niñez y adolescencia’. [https://www.unicef.org/mexico/spanish/

UNICEF Tanzania, ‘Children and AIDS’. [https://www.unicef.org/tanzania/children_aids.html]

2. UNICEF, ‘What is the Convention of the Rights of the Child?’. [https://www.unicef.org/crc/index_73549.

12. Ibid., p.1.

14. Ibid., p.72

32. International Labour Organization, ‘What is Child Labour?’. [http://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang--en/index.

48. This is the author’s speculation upon poll results.

49. In response to the UN General Assembly resolution 69/158.

76. UNICEF Tanzania, ‘Children and AIDS’. [https://www.unicef.org/tanzania/children_aids.html]

85. UNICEF Mexico, ‘Protección a la niñez y adolescencia’. [https://www.unicef.org/mexico/spanish/

89. Government of Mexico, ‘Participa con tu gobierno en línea’. [https://www.gob.mx/participa/inicio]

93. UNICEF, ‘Peer education’. [https://www.unicef.org/lifeskills/index_12078.html]

95. Digital Principles for Development [https://digitalprinciples]

96. Original icons in Digital Principles for Development.

97. Digital Principles for Development.

99. Digital Principles for Development.

101. Digital Principles for Development.

103. Digital Principles for Development.