9-13 December 2019
Local faith actors and religious leaders with UNICEF Niger, Religions for Peace and the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities convened the Niger WorkRock in Niamey, in the conference room of the Radisson Hotel Blue de Niamey, under the chairmanship of the Minister of Cultural Renaissance, Arts and Social Modernization. This meeting which brought together customary and religious leaders and officials from the Ministries in charge of the issue took place as follows: the opening ceremony, the progress of the works and the closing ceremony.
Click to read the Religious guide to promoting child care and their happiness in French
Click to view the 2020 Action Plan in French
Niger WorkRock page
‘The Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities held its first global forum on child dignity in the digital world in Abu Dhabi in November 2018. The forum was attended by 450+ attendees including senior faith leaders and senior representatives from governments, law enforcement agencies, international organizations, NGOs, civil society and academia, representing more than 50 countries.
Over the course of two days, attendees gained understanding on the risks faced by children in the digital age, the emotional and psychological impact on online sexual abuse and exploitation on children. Experts from various disciplines spoke of the actions that need to be taken by policy makers and faith communities to combat online child sexual abuse and exploitation. Senior leaders from the major faiths of the world issued a call to action to protect the digital dignity of children.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child advocates for the provision of programs and services that will promote early health, development and well-being of children and their caregivers. This is particularly important given that current statistics indicate that “a quarter of the world’s youngest children suffer one or more forms of severe deprivation and risk, such as poverty, disease, disability and exposure to violence.”1 Children infected or affected by AIDS are at a distinct disadvantage, especially with regards to education, nutrition, health, safety, and development. As these children are less likely to have their basic needs met, they are more likely to be sick or malnourished, suffer psychological trauma, endure abuse, and become HIV positive. Furthermore, young children are especially vul-nerable to the effects of HIV and AIDS, given the critical importance of the first five years of life in brain development and in providing the foundations for lifelong development. Ultimately, children affected by HIV and AIDS (CABA) are less able to reach their potential as pro-ductive members of society than other children and are more likely to perpetuate the cycle of illness and poverty. Moreover, as the HIV pandemic puts great strains on the existing community based safety net responses, it is essential to build family resiliency through approaches that boost household ability to recover from shocks (e.g. illness, loss of income, etc), improve ability to cope even in the event of shocks and support, thereby strengthening the first line of response in order to build a safe and nurturing home environment. Although most countries with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS have national strategies in place to support CABA, there are few programs designed specifically to meet the special needs of children under five. Therefore, as researchers and program implementers uncover more evidence of the long term consequences of HIV/AIDS on children, new approaches are urgently needed.
EARLY ADOPTERS’ WORKROCK CAMEROON 2-6
DECEMBER 2019
The ‘Faith for Positive Change for Children’ (FPCC) global initiative aims to build a new form of partnership between UNICEF and faith-based actors, enabling them to work together in a more effective, systemic, and scalable way to bring sustained impact in children’s lives. UNICEF has recognised the value of working with faith actors for many years, but its 2014 mapping showed that its approach across 150 countries was mainly ad-hoc, short-term and message-based, instrumentalising faith groups, rather than working collaboratively to address the complexity of social and behaviour change. In response, its Communications for Development (C4D) section teamed up with the ‘Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities’ and ‘Religions for Peace’. In 2018, they drew together the global evidence base to show what really works, reviewed toolkits, held a UNICEF and faith partner workshop in Bangkok, documented case-studies of UNICEF’s existing work in this area, co-created a ‘Journey of Change’ for how faith actors and UNICEF can partner most effectively to impact children and set up an advisory group of 20 partner organisations and web platform to share resources.
The initiative uses the term ‘WorkRock’ instead of ‘workshop’ to emphasise that these are not training to impart information, but learning together about the foundations of what creates lasting impact for children based on strong evidence and finding a new way of partnering. Three WorkRocks had already been held in South Sudan, Malawi and Liberia. All created their own Journey of Change from their experiences and learning, corroborating the global with the high degree of coherence. Cameroon’s WorkRock was attended by 50 UNICEF staff, government officials and different actors from the faith community.
Cameroon WorkRock page
EARLY ADOPTERS’ WORKROCK LIBERIA
25-28 NOVEMBER 2019
The ‘Faith for Positive Change for Children’ (FPCC) global initiative aims to build a new form of partnership between UNICEF and faith-based actors, enabling them to work together in a more effective, systemic, and scalable way to bring sustained impact in children’s lives. UNICEF has recognized the value of working with faith actors for many years, but its 2014 mapping showed that its approach across 150 countries often instrumentalized faith groups in partnerships that were ad-hoc, short-term and message-based, rather than working collaboratively to address the complexity of social and behavior change. In response, its Communications for Development (C4D) section began a partnership in 2018 with the ‘Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities’ and ‘Religions for Peace’ to: draw together the global evidence base of what really works; review toolkits; hold a UNICEF and faith partner workshop in Bangkok; document case-studies of UNICEF’s existing work in this area; co-create a ‘Journey of Change’ for how faith actors and UNICEF can partner most effectively to impact children; and set up an advisory group of 20 partner organizations and web platform to share resources. Now they are trialing the Journey of Change in five pilot countries before strategizing the way forward.
The initiative uses the term ‘WorkRock’ instead of ‘workshop’ to emphasize that these are not trainings to impart information, but focus on learning together about the foundations of creating lasting impact for children and finding a new way of partnering. The initial WorkRocks in South Sudan and Malawi affirmed the global ‘Journey of Change’ by developing similar ones from their own learning, taking ownership of the initiative and making shared commitments to action. UNICEF Liberia is the third to host a ‘WorkRock’. 45 faith leaders and organizations, government officers and UNICEF staff came together.
Liberia WorkRock page
EARLY ADOPTERS’ WORKROCK MALAWI 11-15 NOVEMBER 2019
The ‘Faith for Positive Change for Children’ (FPCC) global initiative aims to enable UNICEF and faith-based actors to work together in a more sustainable, systemic, integrated and scalable way to impact children’s lives. UNICEF has a long history of active engagement with local faith actors. Its 2014 mapping showed that its approach across 150 countries was mainly ad-hoc, short-term and message-based. It was instrumentalising faith groups, rather than working collaboratively to address the complexity of social and behaviour change. Its Communications for Development (C4D) section therefore teamed up with the ‘Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities’ and ‘Religions for Peace’ on this initiative. In 2018, they drew together the global evidence base to show what really works, reviewed toolkits, held a UNICEF and faith partner workshop in Bangkok, documented case-studies of UNICEF’s existing work in this area, co-created a theory of change for the initiative, and set up an advisory group of 20 partner organisations and web platform to share resources. Since then, the initiative has developed draft guidance and a package of resources to support roll-out.
UNICEF Malawi was the second of five early adopter countries in Africa to host this ‘WorkRock’ (with South Sudan, Liberia, Cameroon and Niger). The term ‘WorkRock’ emphasises that this is not ‘business as usual’ but about figuring out a new way of working together, based on strong foundations in evidence. With the help of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC), the WorkRock brought together 50 faith leaders and organisations, government officers and UNICEF staff from within Malawi and 10 international.
Malawi WorkRock page
EARLY ADOPTERS’ WORKROCK SOUTH SUDAN
7-11 OCTOBER 2019
The ‘Faith for Positive Change for Children’ (FPCC) global initiative aims to enable UNICEF and faith-based actors to work together in a more sustainable, systemic, integrated and scalable way to impact children’s lives. UNICEF has a long history of active engagement with local faith actors. Its 2014 mapping showed that its approach across 150 countries was mainly ad-hoc, short-term and message-based. It was instrumentalising faith groups, rather than working collaboratively to address the complexity of social and behaviour change. Its Communications for Development (C4D) section therefore teamed up with the ‘Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities’ and ‘Religions for Peace’ on this initiative. In 2018, they drew together the global evidence base to show what really works, reviewed toolkits, held a UNICEF and faith partner workshop in Bangkok, documented case-studies of UNICEF’s existing work in this area, co-created a theory of change for the initiative, and set up an advisory group of 20 partner organisations and web platform to share resources. Since then, the initiative has developed draft guidance and a package of resources to support roll-out.
UNICEF South Sudan was the first of five early adopter countries in Africa (with Malawi, Liberia, Cameroon and Niger) to host this ‘WorkRock’ – a term that shows that this is not ‘business as usual’ but about figuring out a new way of working together, based on strong foundations in evidence. With the help of the South Sudan Council of Churches and Islamic Council, it brought together 65 faith leaders and organisations, government officers and UNICEF staff.
South Sudan WorkRock page
Published in Child Abuse & Neglect
Dec 2019
When religious institutions are discussed in the context of child maltreatment, the topic is typically sources of danger for children. Although some religious institutions are counted among the formal organizations in which child abuse has occurred and in which accusations have been covered up, to focus solely on religion and its institutions as sources of threat or to exclude them from discussions of addressing, preventing, and eradicating violence against children, would be a mistake. Throughout the world, there exist communities of faith that provide formal and informal resources, supports, and opportunities to children and families in their midst. This article provides a rationale for including religious institutions in conversations about and in efforts to protect children, examples of efforts by religious institutions to provide protection to children, a discussion of religion and its institutions as potential sources of risk for children, and suggestions for research on the role of religious institutions in child protection.
Click the download button to go to the journal article
Things have changed dramatically for the world’s women since Christian Aid was founded 75 years ago. On the whole, this change has been for the better, with significant progress on women’s rights and working towards gender parity. We have seen the decline of child marriage, a decrease in the number of women and girls who have been subjected to female genital mutilation, and more women represented in national parliaments. We have seen historically unprecedented reductions in maternal mortality, gains in women’s health and education, and progress towards gender equality through new legislation and the reform of existing laws.
This progress is worth celebrating, but there is still a long way to go. Women and girls are over-represented among the world’s poor. They are more likely to be denied the right to an education and to be victims of human trafficking. Patterns of violence and discrimination are often established in childhood, and gender-based violence (GBV) is perpetrated against girls, especially after puberty, when they are considered to be women in many cultures.
Inter-faith initiative on engagement of young people in support of ending violence against children
Overview
- UNICEF and COEPA’s (the inter-religious council of Panama) partnership has brought together diverse denominations in Panama to advocate for ending violence against children. The core of the initiative is to see enhanced cooperation among these groups, supported by UNICEF engagement, and reinforced by increased youth participation and empowerment so that young people are less affected by domestic violence and child abuse.
- Studies show that young people in Panama particularly trust their religious leaders. Outreach within youth groups and at the Youth Assembly has been a primary way to reach adolescents with messages about child rights.
- UNICEF and COEPA have cooperated on Annual Days of Prayer and Action to End Violence Against Children for a decade. More recently the campaign expanded to include outreach through television and radio.
Read about the Faith and Positive Change for Children Initiative
