Developing Child Perspective Is The New Mantra For Promoting Meaningful Participation

Developing child perspective is the new mantra for promoting meaningful participation Harsh global realities have focused attention on children’s need for right to information, choice, participation and services, and they have also compelled children themselves to act. All over the world increasing number of children and young people are organizing and assert their right. Within their communities, through out their countries, across their regions and at international conferences and meetings and policy development process, they are forming their own organizations and networks, educating their peers, speaking out collectively and individually, and helping shape the global agenda. Beyond child and youth led initiatives, organization working on children and young people’s needs are increasingly focused on rights and participation in paramount importance. They are also realizing that if they want their programs to serve children and young people’s needs effectively they must involve young people as a protagonist as well as beneficiaries. But participation cannot be meaningful without having a perspective. Developing a child perspective would be a process to ensure and sustain the rights. Now what is a child perspective??? Child perspective A theoretical and methodological approach that aims to understand the context that surrounds children, and also considers issues related to gender, culture, and identity. Child perspective analysis is a systematic way of exploring the current and potential roles and responsibilities of children and adults, considering also gender and plurality (identity, oppression, context) issues, and their access to and control over resources and benefits within a particular setting (project, campaign, or other). It encompasses: • • • • •

How children see things How polices affect children’s lives What children themselves identify as important Programs and systems designed to incorporate children Rethinking power relationships between adults and children and among children

The three main objectives of a child perspective analysis are to draw attention to the stigmatization of children, to fight against vulnerability and to promote child participation. Underlying these objectives are: •

A commitment to equality and equity, and human rights for all people, including Children and youth, of course.

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A recognition that the power structures that determine the majority of existing social relationships are damaging to diverse sectors of the population, especially children. • The promotion of an objective valuation of the contributions made by youth, and the recognition of their right to meaningful participation in decision making processes and relevant social contexts. A constant questioning of the way we define youth and an identification of the origins of the existing prejudices on youth by exposing stereotypes and recognizing the value of plurality. Why is it important to include a child perspective in advocacy efforts? •

Children have rights, children have a voice, and children have different concerns than adults that need to be recognized. • The world’s problems have a disproportionate impact on child life, who are themselves disproportionately disempowered. • It’s pragmatic—the challenges are tremendous, and children need to be part of the solution, not just a symptom of the problem. • Decision makers often do not understand the reality of children’s lives and needs, and tend to design misguided policies accordingly. • It’s a question of responsibility and independence—children have both a right and a responsibility to participate. People in power also have a responsibility to include child perspectives. • It’s a basic part of citizenship and autonomy. • It’s important for children to speak for themselves, rather than have their agenda appropriated by other actors. • It’s critical to the sustainability and effectiveness of any campaign. • Policies may seem inclusive but in fact only target a small group of privileged people and often exclude a broad spectrum of vulnerable voices —including children. • Current efforts to incorporate child perspectives tend to ignore the wide range of children in need of representation, focusing instead on older, privileged children Key Points: child Perspective vs. Generational Perspective •

A child perspective often does not carry the same importance as a gender perspective, because child is temporary. People tend to ignore or undermine the particular needs of children because of this transitory aspect, so the term youth perspective risks becoming marginalized.

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To look at things from a “gender perspective,” it’s not enough to be a woman—not all women see the world from a feminist point of view, and not all women have a critical perspective on the social and political aspects of gender. In the same way, often it’s not enough to be children to actually see the world from a child perspective. It’s something you need to realize, in a way, and something you need to find within yourself.

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One thing that could be problematic when using the term “child perspective” is that it implies that there is one child perspective, when in fact there are many different youth perspectives. The term doesn’t capture the plurality of children.

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The difference between the term “child perspective” and the term “gender perspective” is that gender is not just women—it’s a socio biological category, not a specific group within that category. Whereas when you talk about “child perspective” or “women’s perspective,” you’re talking about a particular group of people and a perspective that they would have, which assumes that there is a singular or particular perspective that women have, that children have. That is where it becomes problematic to use the word “child perspective” rather than, for example, “children empowerment perspective” or “child participation perspective.” Unlike “women’s perspective,” the notion of power relations is built into the word “gender,” so the analysis of gender is already in the phrase “gender perspective,” which makes it a more effective way of framing things.

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Some of the literature talks about child participation in terms of a “generational perspective” as a counterpart of gender—which captures the idea of talking about and looking at people of different generations.

For me developing the perspective is the present challenge for the participation movement. To look at things from a gender perspective, it’s not enough to be a woman. So naturally, it’s not enough to be young to actually see the world from a youth perspective. It’s something you need to realize, in a way, and something you need to find within yourself.

Thank you Agniva Lahiri Coordinator Policy Research and Advocacy Network of Asia Pacific Youth Representing the experiences and realities of young people from the Asia Pacific region, the Network of Asia Pacific Youth (NAPY) is a network of young people working for the promotion, protection and advancement of young people's rights, toward ensuring their meaningful participation and perspectives at all levels of decision-making. [email protected]