CL.A.P. – ChiLdren’s rights Awareness and Participation addressing emerging needs after Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the serious repercussions experienced by children and young people in emergency situations. During this period, the right of minors to actively participate in social life and recreational activities was restricted, along with their access to information and involvement in decision-making processes. There has been a noticeable increase in emotional and psychological distress, especially among adolescents, coupled with a growing sense of isolation.
The closure of schools and the transition to online education have created a significant gap in digital literacy and limited access to educational services. In this context, the C.L.A.P. project aims to promote the active participation of children and young people in decision-making processes, both in the school and municipal settings. The goal is to contribute to the development of appropriate responses for childhood issues with a gender-sensitive approach.
In view of the disorders experienced by children during the pandemic, CL.A.P. aims to promote their rights to participate in decision-making processes, especially in emergency situations, to contribute to the development of child-friendly and gender-sensitive responses by local public authorities and educators.
The objective of the program is to contribute to increasing awareness and realization of the rights of children in European society, based on the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and Adolescence, and to strengthen the participation mechanism of minors. This is aimed at identifying emerging needs and overcoming the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is estimated that 99% of children worldwide reside in one of the 186 countries that have implemented various restrictions to combat COVID-19, ranging from lockdowns and the use of personal protective equipment to hygiene measures, interpersonal distance, and isolation.
Within this framework, the project focuses on 435 minors from urban and rural areas of Palermo, Barcelona, and Bucharest, as well as 60 educational professionals, including educators, workers, psychologists, social workers, teachers, and healthcare workers working with children. In addition to these collaborators, the project has the support of local authorities and, especially, decision-makers and political leaders in the areas where the project is being implemented.
The program also contains a set of measures for the EU to implement, among others:
The rights of the most vulnerable children
Children’s rights in the digital age
The prevention of and fight against violence
The promotion of child-friendly justice.
It will also include recommendations for action by other EU institutions, EU countries and stakeholders.
With the collaboration of the ICDI partner, the Children-Led Research method is implemented, allowing minors to formulate research questions, analyze data, and present the results of a research activity. The analysis involves the participation of 150 operators and service providers related to childhood and adolescence, through online and in-person activities. The goal is to share ideas to identify the main issues these groups face during the pandemic, using creative methods such as educational theater, living libraries, workshops, and surveys.
Upon completion of the project, minors will have participated in decision-making processes alongside decision-makers, exercising their right to be heard, especially in emergency situations. This aims to establish an advocacy and networking action plan to create a stable mechanism for consulting minors. This will be developed considering the current context and formulating proposals and training that reach the personnel. Therefore, the project will result in a guide and work plan, as well as training for educational and municipal staff.
AHEAD was founded in 2009 by educators from the fields of formal education, leisure education and non-formal education who have worked locally, nationally and internationally to consolidate human rights and education of children's rights.
Besides AHEAD, this Strategic Partnership project is implemented by the organisations of the consortium:
CISS - International Cooperation South-South Onlus is a non-governmental organization (NGO) active since 1985 in the different "South" of the world, among the countries condemned to be only a source of raw materials and cheap weapons, places of conflict. Countries dictated from the hunt for resources, but also from the periphery of the rich world where those excluded from work, those weakened by the lack of social services, the disabled and foreigners are relegated.
It is an interdisciplinary cultural space dedicated to the exploration and public presentation of performative artistic creations conceived by activist artists who work closely with the community. Replika is a platform for pedagogical creations and participatory artworks, through which the public can self-represent and create their own art.
It is an organization that works on the psychosocial development of children and young people who grow up in difficult circumstances. ICDI aims to improve policy and practice by developing the skills of children, families, organizations and local authorities.
IMAGO MUNDI (Romania) supports young people and their development, especially in rural areas. IMAGO MUNDI has established strategic alliances with schools and institutes, both rural and urban, with cultural institutions and local authorities.
I SICALIANI (Palermo, Italy), is a social cooperative whose path began with street education and today is dedicated to raising awareness of social issues and the promotion and application of children's rights in schools and neighborhoods in Palermo. It uses creative methods based on non-formal education, including the agro-play therapy method, created and promoted by the cooperative.
