Including Young People in the Post-2015 Process

The world now has its largest generation of young people ever! It was highlighted at a recent event at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), that half the world's population is under the age of twenty-five. In Tanzania, half the population is under 15! It is vital that young people are included in setting the development agenda.

The Millenium Development Goals, a set of eight development goals, agreed upon by the international community, will expire in 2015. Back in July 2012, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, appointed a group of twenty-seven people, known as the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons, to advise on the global development agenda beyond 2015. The Panel includes leaders from civil society, private sector and government and is co-chaired by the Presidents of Indonesia and Liberia, and the Prime Minister of the UK. The Panel released a report today, presenting their recommendations to Ban Ki-moon and the UN. You can read the report here.

Ban Ki-moon praised the Panel for its inclusive approach and extensive consultations over the past year. As ODI points out, young people have been a visible presence in the emerging post-2015 process, from taking part in participatory consultations and 'tweet-ups' to participating in roundtables with the High Level Panel. The two reports released at ODI's event show the importance of making the voices of young people count in setting the post-2015 agenda. Both reports are now online:

1. Youth and international development policy: the case for investing in young people, by the ODI.
2. Youth Voices on a Post-2015 World, by the DFID-CSO Youth Working Group.

Tomorrow (31 May), a number of stakeholders and UN Agency Groups will hold a discussion on the High Level Panel Report. The UN CSD Major Group for Children and Youth forwarded this useful info sheet, with details of the discussion. The discussion will take place at the UN Headquarters and you can participate online.
You can watch a livestream of the discussion here, on the World We Want platform, from 10 am to 12 pm EDT.
You can follow the conversation on twitter using, #Post2015HLP, @WorldWeWant2015, @unngls, @2015on.

Please do pass this on to young people, so they can participate on 31 May. We cannot have a discussion about them, without them!

Recycling for Funds in Cape Town

Today is Earth Day! Rita Benjamin, of Cape Town, South Africa, is doing something amazing to fundraise, whilst helping the environment. She is recycling, and has asked people to give her their plastic, glass, paper, cardboard and tins, instead of just throwing them away. She will then take all this to a recycling centre, and can get some cash in exchange. She is also making low cost duvet covers and has asked for factories to donate any cut-offs, which they would otherwise throw away. This all sounds good, as Rita is encouraging people to recycle, which is an excellent cause in itself. However, she is also fundraising for a great reason.

Rita with some bottles, ready for recycling.

Rita and her husband, Alvin, adopted a baby, Melanie, three years ago. Melanie, was later found to be deaf. She recently had a scan. Doctors at Tygerberg Hospital, in Cape Town, have said that Melanie can undergo an operation to have a cochlear implant. Although the Government will sponsor most of the costs, Rita and Alvin, must still raise 40,000 Rand (£2860) for the operation. This is why Rita is fundraising through recycling. The operation will be on 21 June 2013. This date was only confirmed in April and Rita may not be able to reach 40,000 Rand in time. If you are able to help, by either contributing, or by telling people about Melanie's operation so they can help, please go to this site: http://www.kapipal.com/melanie. There is more information, and it is possible to make a donation.

Rita with Melanie at a guidance class for parents of children who

are deaf

So, what will happen with Rita's recycling initiative after June? Rita is the founder of Seawind Educare and has set up three creches around Cape Town for disadvantaged children. These creches aim to give the children the best possible start in life. Once Melanie's operation has been paid for, Rita will continue fundraising through recycling, to support the creches.

Rita with some of the children at one of Seawind's creches

Rita is helping many children, as well as the environment, and it would be so much appreciated if anyone were able to help her child too.

Melanie with her school bag. She attends a special 

school for children who are deaf.

Thank You Message from CHW at Six Years Old!

My organisation, CHW, is six today! I want to thank everyone who has supported CHW, and the children we have been working with, over the past six years. Below is a thank you note from me! I look forward to many more years of supporting amazing children's projects all over the world!

By the way, I recently returned to London from my research work in South Africa and will now be able to blog again more frequently! 

I'm Still Here!

I can't believe it is the end of February already! The time seems to be flying! I have not been able to post regularly these past couple of months. I have been at my organisation, CHW's, projects in Romania and I am now doing some legal research for a great children's rights advocacy organisation in South Africa. This has meant though, that I cannot always get online when I want. It is a shame because there is so much that I want to share on this blog! I will be able to, if not from here, then definitely when I am back home (with a more reliable internet connection!). For now, I will leave you with a photo of some of the children we support at a children's home in Romania, called Casa Mea. If you want to keep up with CHW's news, you can like our facebook page here.

Children at Casa Mea in Romania

I will write more, and properly, as soon as I can!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays everyone! Below is CHW's Christmas message.

I have been at the projects in Romania this month, and so haven't been able to blog much - but I have a lot of things to write about from my time there, so there will be more updates soon!

In the meantime, I want to wish you all a happy Christmas (what is left of it!) and a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year!

A Short Message from CHW on Universal Children's Day

Here is the facebook message from Children's Helpers Worldwide, marking Universal Children's Day 2012:

"Today is Universal Children's Day! Our hope is that all the children in the world will have food, water, shelter, healthcare, an education and everything else they need. We wish all the very best to people, around the world, who are working to achieve this. Keep up with your good work! Thank you to those of you who support projects through CHW to help the children."

Picture from a creche we help in South Africa

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To get more updates, you can "like" CHW's facebook page: facebook.com/ChildrensHelpersWorldwide or follow CHW on twitter: @CHWchildren

Back with a New Report on Children in Custody!

Things have been a bit hectic these past few weeks, but I am now back again and have a new report to share!

I have been involved with a new project on children in custody, which is being coordinated by the Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE). The project is called Ending Violence Against Children in Custody. It aims to: 

Image courtesy of worradmu/www.freedigitalphotos.net

"...empower children and young people with experience of custody to investigate the views of other children and young people in custody, to work together to determine their own recommendations for reducing violence in custody and to develop their own campaigning activities."

The project looks at the situation of children in custody in five European countries: Austria, Cyprus, England, The Netherlands and Romania. I helped with researching the domestic rules governing custody for children and young people in each country. You can see a summary, as well as the total population of young prisoners in each of the countries, here.

I have also been helping with other reports to do with this project. This week, CRAE released a report which focuses on children's experience of violence in custody in England, and gives their recommendations for achieving violence-free custodial settings. A group of young people, with experience of custody, are now campaigning on two of the recommendations. You can see the report here and the accompanying press release here.

Children in custody, like all children, have the right to be protected from all forms of violence, under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Further, experiencing violence in custody cannot help, and rather, would hinder, any reform or rehabilitation of children in custodial settings. Article 40 of the Convention says that children who are accused of being, or who are, in conflict with the law, must be treated in a way which:

• promotes their sense of dignity and worth;
• reinforces their respect for human rights and the fundamental freedoms of others;
• and promotes their reintegration, with the children assuming a constructive role in society.

This cannot happen if those in charge of custodial settings themselves use violence against children and young people, or if they do not create a setting which prevents the children and young people from being violent towards each other. I like CRAE's project because it addresses these issues, and empowers children and young people to take action.

To learn more, and to follow the progress of the Ending Violence Against Children in Custody project, you can visit this website: www.violencefreecustody.org.uk. I will also post further updates from the project on this blog.