Uplifting Young Children’s Voices for Social Change

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

There is a growing recognition that listening to and hearing children is important in matters that affect their lives. Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate activist, is now a household name in many places around the world. But she is not the only one – many other young people are raising their voices. The commitment to child participation is codified in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. While there is growing awareness of children’s right to participation, it is unclear whether this has “been accompanied by a comparable increase in real-life opportunities” (Latsch et al., 2023) – especially for the youngest children. As one child said, “Politicians often refer to us children as being the future. . . . But we are living right now. – Our childhood is happening now and not in the future. We do not think it is enough for decision-makers (for example politicians and public officials) to speak a lot about children and how important they are. – We want them to listen to us. (Children’s Summit, Sweden, 2001).

This panel will share several projects that sought to empower young children to share their experiences and stories and contribute to changing the world in which they will grow up. These examples fill several gaps.

Much child participation in the past has been by adolescents, but these examples share younger children’s voices (from age 5-12 years-old). For example, recent studies have found that young children are much less likely to have their views included in participatory processes than adolescents (Latch et al., 2023; Cossar et al., 2016, Ferguson, 2017, 2018, Toros et al., 2013).

Also, much past work has focused on the Global North or stable contexts; these projects engage with children in challenging situations, whether migrants on the move, children recovering from a natural disaster, or those living in a refugee camp that will likely be their home for decades to come. This is important because, more and more, children around the world are being affected by conflict and crisis. It is estimated that one in four children around the world lives in a conflict or disaster zone and more than 30 million children have been displaced by conflict (UNOCHA 2020). Although they represent only one-third of the world’s population, children under age 18 account for half of all refugees (or nearly 13 million) and 40 percent of populations internally displaced by violence and conflict (UNHCR, 2017). Given the protracted nature of modern conflict rises—many lasting between 10 and 26 years—millions of young children will spend the entirety of their childhoods in conditions that threaten their short- and long-term development. There is insufficient funding for children in emergencies and limited understanding of the experiences of young children and their families.

The examples in this panel also highlight ways that technology has been used to gather children’s perspectives and stories. From cellphones to disposable cameras to wearable GoPro video cameras, the projects utilized a range of tools and processes and have identified strengths and weaknesses of these approaches.

Presentations will share experiences of participatory research and storytelling for social change using a range of technologies and geographies (Bangladesh, Colombia, and Turkey). Their work draws on and contributes to the literature about child participation (Lundy 2007; Lansdown & O’Kane 2014; Hart 1992; Shier 2001) and provides concrete examples of utilizing participation frameworks to engage children responsibility and meaningfully. The projects also use thoughtful approaches to ensuring consent from both children and adults and also strategies for sharing and debriefing with children who participated as well as broader communities.

Sub Unit

• Early Childhood Development SIG

Organizer

• Lucy Bassett, University of Virginia

Chair

• Sweta Shah, The Brookings Institution

Individual Presentations

• Colombia: Sueños en Ruta (Dreams on Route) - Leidy Angélica Esquivel Jimenez, ChildArise

• Turkey: Photovoice Project - Lucy Bassett, University of Virginia

• Bangladesh: Innocent Eyes - Sweta Shah, The Brookings Institution