Creating an enabling environment

Creating an Enabling Environment - Capacity Building in Children's Participation, Save the Children Sweden, Vietnam, 2000-2004. By Henk van Beers, Vo Phi Chau, Judith Ennew, Pham Quoc Khan, Tran Thap Long, Brian Milne, Trieu Tri Anh Nguyet, and Vu Thi Son. Bangkok, 2006, Save the Children Sweden, Southeast Asia and Pacific Regional Office.

Since 2000, Save the Children Sweden in Viet Nam has operated a programme to build the capacity of adults at all levels in facilitating children’s participation with the long-term aim of raising awareness of children’s potential for political participation, not only in Viet Nam but regionally and internationally.
In order to build the basis for planning future programmes to further children’s participation in Viet Nam and elsewhere, Save the Children Sweden commissioned a research assessment which combined three simultaneous research processes using a single research protocol to assess:
• Children-friendly activities in Ho Chi Minh City
• Vietnamese national forums for children
• The impact of the capacity-building programme in Viet Nam, the Southeast Asia and
Pacific region, and globally.
The research process was rights-based, including children’s views and experiences, using appropriate methods and ethical procedures. Building on previous documentation of Save the Children’s promotion of children’s participation, the information in this Report will assist other efforts to ensure that children’s participation becomes both an everyday reality and a high-quality, meaningful experience for the children and adults involved in similar processes worldwide.