Heroes in Action: Child Advocates in South Africa

Children as advocates, involved in the development of the new Children's Bill in South Africa. This article in Children, Youth and Environments 17(3), 2007 is a case study reflecting on the experiences of the children to contribute their views and ideas to the legislative process.

Here is the abstract as presented in the journal:

Dikwankwetla – Children in Action is the name of an advocacy group of children who participated in the deliberations around the new Children’s Bill in South Africa. Their participation in a legislative process broadens the scope of venues for children’s participation, and challenges the discourse about child participation at a new level. It also raises important conceptual questions about the extent to which children can participate in legislative processes. This paper presents the efforts of Dikwankwetla as a case study, reflecting on its practice and challenges. It interrogates children’s agency in this process, and argues that childhood must be re-conceptualized to recognize that children are political actors in their environments. Looking at the concepts of power and representation, it recognizes the need for a shift in the adult-child relationship, from one based on control to one based on rights and responsibilities. More importantly, it reflects on the implications of facilitating children’s participation in the context of a developing country, where socio-economic and cultural conditions raise different challenges from those in the developed world.

And here is the report of the evaluation of the project by the Children's Institute in Cape Town:

Dikwankwetla – Children in Action Project Evaluation Workshop Report

Children's participation in Latin America

The CYE Journal has just published a new issue (vol. 17, no. 2), which includes 11 new papers on participation with youth in Latin America, guest edited by Yolanda Corona Caraveo and Mara Eugenia Linares Ponton as well as essays on children and nature by Peter Kahn and Emily Stanley, and several book reviews.

The issue includes papers from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, Colombia, and other countries in Latin America. It is available from the journal's home page on: http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/

Useful Link: Children, Youth and Environments

Children, Youth and Environments

CYE publishes a peer-reviewed online journal that offers researchers a high-quality, refereed outlet for sharing their work and learning about new studies in the field. Several databases provide supplemental information (see resources listed in the Site Map).

CYE has a global audience and seeks to connect the worlds of research, policy and practice.

The journal publishes papers on a broad range of topics and using different approaches, including quantitative and qualitative empirical research, theoretical, methodological and historical investigations, critical literature reviews, design analyses, post-occupancy evaluations, policy studies, and program assessments. We welcome papers from diverse viewpoints, varied approaches, and different cultures.

Although CYE’s scope is not restricted to a particular disciplinary or professional paradigm, its organizing focus is the physical environment. CYE takes a special interest in papers that focus on children and youth in environments of disadvantage and those with special needs as well as in papers that recognize the capacity of children and young people for meaningful participation in the processes that shape their lives.

One of the latest issues looks at critical perspectives on children's participation.

More about that later.