How can we help children thrive without violence in faith communities? Discover the four learnings that emerged from discussion between survivors, faith leaders and child sector professionals.
Child Safety in Faith Communities: Moving from Words to Actions
This learning brief forms part of SVRI’s Community of Practice on Faith and Gender-based violence. Its insights emerge from discussions with 30 participants within a newly designed three-month virtual course – Faith and Helping Children Thrive without Violence. This course was co-designed and piloted as a main activity of its 325-member working group from over 60 countries in 6 continents1. It centres the lived experiences, stories and practice-based knowledge of selected working group members through structured learning dialogues in early 2025 between participants around 32 short audio-visual contributions which focused specifically on faith and violence against children, and which were provided by other working group members. This brief draws on their voices and insights from diverse faith traditions and countries around the world as well as offering access to videos (5-10 minutes each) from just four of the course contributors that formed the course backbone. Whilst many faith institutions are developing child safeguarding policies, practitioners insist that more work needs to be done to ensure these paper policies translate into practice through building a shared culture of safeguarding if faith institutions are to move from words alone to action.
Empowered Worldview Final Technical Report 2024
Empowered Worldview (EWV) is a faith-based programming model and training curriculum that seeks to transform mindsets toward hope, compassionate relationships, self-reliance and faith-in-action. Empowered Worldview was developed in 2015 by World Vision in Tanzania and by 2023 had been implemented by World Vision in 40 countries. An assessment of the implementation of EWV in two high-need contexts in rural Tanzania was undertaken by World Vision Tanzania, Ifakara Health Institute and the University of Alberta, with data collected between 2020 and 2022, and analysis carried out in 2022 and 2023. Quantitative and qualitative methods were combined to assess baseline conditions, implementation process and impacts of the first two years of implementation. Special attention was paid to assessment of mindset, as a key intermediate outcome, and child nutrition as an ultimate outcome.
Empowered Worldview Project Model
Empowered Worldview (EWV) is a biblically-based enabling project model that can lead to deeper and more sustainable changes in child well-being when combined with other project models. EWV is a behaviour-change model that seeks to address dependency mindsets and promote individual empowerment among people living in poverty. The EWV curriculum uses Biblical principles to engage individuals on issues of identity, self-esteem, hope, and vision for the future. It has been shown to have a positive impact on an individual’s level of empowerment, increasing their ability to become agents of change within their own lives, their families and communities.
Dialogue Esprit-Cœur: Guide du Facilitateur pour L’engagement Religieux – version 2
Ce guide est une version mise à jour du guide de 2022 disponible en anglais, espagnol, portugais et français.
Ce guide propose une série d’activités qui s’appuient sur les Écritures, sur des faits et sur les expériences pratiques et les émotions des personnes. Le dialogue Esprit-Cœur (MHD) implique souvent une activité physique pour approfondir la discussion, faire participer des voix diverses et renforcer l’apprentissage par l’expérience. Nos discussions habituelles peuvent nous enfermer dans des raisonnements et renforcer les relations et structures de pouvoir déséquilibrées existantes. L’ajout d’un élément visuel et physique par le
biais du MHD permet aux gens d’être moins gênés et moins défensifs, de s’engager plus activement et de remarquer de nouvelles choses. Le dialogue Esprit-Cœur crée un espace pour des partenariats plus égalitaires, car chacun apporte sa contribution favorisant ainsi une pensée innovante et collaborative.
Il s’agit de la deuxième édition (2024) du guide original. Elle vient ajouter un cadre théorique plus approfondi permettant aux facilitateurs de mieux comprendre le processus de changement de comportement attendu dans le cadre du MHD. Le guide vise à aider les facilitateurs de dialogues à maîtriser le processus de changement, qui constitue la base de la planification des sessions du MHD. Il est conçu pour permettre aux facilitateurs de planifier et de faciliter des sessions de dialogue pour différents groupes. Le guide présente les aspects suivants dans un format facile et prêt à être adopté. Il comprend notamment :
- Un modèle de changement,
- Un cadre de facilitation,
- Le Parcours de changement de l’initiative FPCC,
- Des exercices et des activités pertinents et réfléchis,
- Des questions thématiques pertinentes touchant les enfants, les familles et les communautés,
- Des exemples d’outils de programmation, de planification, de suivi, d’évaluation et de comptes-rendus.
English version available here
Mind-Heart Dialogue Regional Workshop for Faith-Based Organisations, Civil Society Organizations & Government Departments on Strengthening Civic Engagment for Routine Immunization & CCES
The Northeast Social and Behaviour Change Alliance, in collaboration with Assam Don Bosco University, UNICEF Assam & Northeast, Faith and Positive Change for Children, families and Communities, and Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities convened a pioneering three-day Mind- Heart Dialogue (MHD) Regional Workshop from March 19 to 21, 2024, at Assam Don Bosco University. The primary goal of this workshop was to introduce and promote the Mind-Heart Dialogue (MHD) approach as a catalyst for positive social and behavioural change across India’s Northeastern states. The workshop brought together including faith-based leaders, government officials, and development partners, to build capacities, develop state-wise action plans, and foster collaboration on critical issues impacting children, families, and communities in the region.
Mind-Heart Dialogue Facilitators’ Guide for Faith Engagement – version 2 (2024)
This guide is an updated version of the 2022 guide available in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.
In this Guide, you will find a mixture of activities that reflect on scriptures, draw in facts and engage people’s life experiences and emotions. Mind-Heart dialogue (MHD) often involves a physical activity to deepen discussion, include diverse voices and strengthen experiential learning. Our usual discussions can lock us into patterns of thinking and reinforce existing unbalanced power relations and structures. Adding a visual and physical element through MHD helps people become less self-conscious and defensive, engage more actively and notice new things. MHD creates a space for more equal partnerships as everyone contributes, thus catalysing innovative and collaborative thinking.
This is version 2 (2024) of the original Guide. It adds a deeper theoretical framework for facilitators to better understand the behaviour change process expected as part of MHD. The Guide aims to help dialogue facilitators to be conversant with the change process, which is the basis of planning MHD sessions. It is designed to enable the facilitators to plan and facilitate dialogue sessions for different groups. In the Guide, the following aspects are presented in an easy and ready to adopt format. This includes:
- Change Model,
- Facilitation framework,
- FPCC Journey of Change,
- Relevant, reflective exercises and activities,
- Pertinent thematic issues affecting children, families, and communities,
- Sample programmes, planning, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting tools.
Version en français disponible ici
Save Children’s Lives: Responsible Banking Survival Guide
The climate emergency represents the most dangerous threat to children’s lives and the survival of future generations. Fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the most significant contributor to the global climate emergency, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Therefore, halting new investments in fossil fuel expansion is one of the most powerful ways to accelerate climate solutions and save children’s lives.
This document provides concise guidelines for using the investment potential of individuals, organisations and churches to stop investment in fossil fuels.
Prioritising protection and inclusion of conflict-affected displaced women and girls in Muslim-majority contexts
Executive Summary
- The number of conflict- and climate-induced displaced people has reached unprecedented levels, with the majority generated by and hosted in Muslim-majority countries.
- The scale of feminised displacement emergencies (where the majority of those displaced are women and children) and the continuum of violence have not been matched by appropriate resources and political will to protect displaced women’s rights.
- To manage the escalating forced migration flows, it is necessary to shift from the Eurocentric refugee management model to understanding and further involving Global South actors – such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – in the global refugee governance system.
- The OIC is the world’s second-largest intergovernmental body but despite its multiple policy commitments to and organisational initiatives for displaced populations lacks a refugee support mechanism and integrated framework of response to displacement.
- Cross-cultural and faith-sensitive models of cooperation in the international system and humanitarian policy are needed in order to advance innovative solutions for women in displacement, thereby contributing to SDG 5 ‘Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment’ and SDG 16 ‘Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions’.
Dialogue esprit-cœur guide du facilitateur pour l’engagement confessionnel
This guide was updated in 2024. The updated version is available here in English and here in French.
Ce guide est destiné aux « champions » du Dialogue Esprit-Cœur: les chefs religieux et leurs institutions, ainsi que le personnel des organisations et agences qui œuvrent en faveur d’un changement positif pour les enfants, les familles et les communautés.
Ce guide propose une série d’activités qui s’appuient sur les Écritures, sur des faits et sur les expériences pratiques et les émotions des personnes. Le dialogue Esprit-Cœur implique souvent une activité physique en vue d’approfondir la discussion, d’inclure diverses voix et de renforcer l’apprentissage par l’expérience. Nos discussions habituelles peuvent nous cantonner dans des schémas de pensée et renforcer les structures et les relations de pouvoir déséquilibrées existantes. Cependant, rajouter un élément visuel et physique aide les personnes à être peu plus détendu et moins sur la défensive, à s’engager plus activement et à remarquer de nouvelles choses. Le dialogue Esprit-Cœur crée un espace pour des partenariats plus égalitaires, car chacun apporte sa contribution, ce qui favorise une pensée innovante et collaborative.