Young people around the world are often relegated to the side-lines and excluded from having a say in decisions that will affect them. One of the key elements of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the right of children to participate in decisions that affect them.
Children are critical thinkers, change makers, communicators, innovators and future leaders. In recent years, the importance of young people’s participation in civil society has been increasingly recognized. However, young people’s participation in business decision-making is not as well articulated – yet business impacts children in many ways. Children are engaged in a diverse range of paid and unpaid work in urban and rural settings and they are consumers of products and services that can enhance as well as harm their lives. For business, young people’s views and input could inform how business work with their suppliers, how they structure their operations and how they develop their products and services to meet the needs and respect the rights of children and young people.
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Vodafone’s purpose is to “connect for a better future” enabling an inclusive and sustainable digital society. Its know-how and scale – with over 315 million mobile customers in Europe and across Africa – gives it a unique opportunity to drive positive change for society. Vodafone’s networks connect family, friends, businesses and governments and play a vital role in keeping economies running, including critical sectors like education and healthcare. With such scale, Vodafone recognises not only the positive impacts on people’s rights from digital technology, but also the potential that its operations could impact human rights – including children’s rights, even though Vodafone’s services are not marketed to them. Based on this insight, the company has been working actively to strengthen children’s rights across their business in the several ways, elaborated in this case study:
The webinar offers real-life examples from companies that have involved children in decision-making and their lessons learned. It also provides a particular focus on safeguarding; how to ensure children’s well-being when engaging in these activities? This webinar is the second in a series of webinars on children’s participation, where we continue to explore the topic together with companies.
The gathering of the Global Child Forum on Southern Africa was the start of a critical chain reaction that is necessary to see us step up our protection of children’s rights in Africa. . With 53 speakers from 28 countries and 250 delegates from the public and private sector, civil society, non-governmental organizations and academia, the Global Child Forum in Southern Africa presented us with a unique occasion to come together to plan action around children’s rights and address imbalances which can no longer be ignored.
This webinar offers an introduction for companies to the benefits of child participation in business decision-making and how to develop meaningful impact for children with their input and involvement. Kay Tisdall (University of Edinburgh) and Tara Collins (Ryerson University) give an introduction to child participation from a theoretical and practical point of view covering the rationale for child participation in business as well as key concepts and principles for businesses to consider. They are followed by Julia Olofsson (Ingka Group) and Magnus Thuvesson (IKEA) who give us a corporate perspective and cover practical implementation of child inclusive activities at IKEA.
In this video Alinde Melin, Global Children's Rights Leader at Inter IKEA Group, shares how children's ideas and perspective influence IKEA. This video is part of a series of interviews with leading experts in the field. They were asked about the importance of child participation and business.
In this video Alinde Melin, Global Children's Rights Leader at Inter IKEA Group, shares what her recommendations are for companies that would like to start involving young people in their business. This video is part of a series of interviews with leading experts in the field. They were asked about the importance of child participation and business.
In this video we asked Alinde Melin, Global Children's Rights Leader at Inter IKEA Group, why IKEA has chosen to include children's voices in their work and what's in it for them. This video is part of a series of interviews with leading experts in the field. They were asked about the importance of child participation and business.
In this video Tara Collins from Ryerson University and Kay Tisdall from University of Edinburgh share how business can work to include a children's rights perspective. This video is part of a series of interviews with leading experts in the field. They were asked about the importance of child participation and business.
In this video we asked Tara Collins from Ryerson University and Kay Tisdall from University of Edinburgh, what business need to think about when engaging children in their decision-making process. This video is part of a series of interviews with leading experts in the field. They were asked about the importance of child participation and business.
In a world where big ideas about children’s rights are presented at high-level events, seminars and workshops, the voice of the children themselves is often conspicuously absent. Global Child Forum and CCR CSR have proudly produced a short-film that gives a voice to children, while at the same time inspiring businesses to invest in child rights. This full version film includes four short stories shot in four different countries: China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Each story can also be found as a short film. Global Child Forum and CCR CSR appreciate if being referred to if/when the films are being showcased in channels or at events where we are not present. #ChildrensVoices
On Wednesday, April 11, the 10th Global Child Forum 2018 was held at the Stockholm Royal Palace. Over 300 participants from around the world gathered to discuss child rights issues. Participants represented global companies, financial institutions, civil society, the UN, academia and government.
On April 11, the 10th Global Child Forum 2018 was held at the Stockholm Royal Palace – where over 300 participants from around the world gathered to discuss child rights issues. Participants represented global companies, financial institutions, civil society, academia and government.
This year’s Global Child Forum welcomed heads of state and heads of companies, leaders from civil society and learners from across South America and beyond. All came together with the goal of providing the region’s children with the best possible path to productive adulthood. All came together with the belief that the business sector is key to achieving that goal. Nearly 400 delegates gathered in the FIESP building on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo, its soaring modernist architecture a fitting backdrop for tackling a far-reaching children’s rights agenda. Read the Forum report — full of inspiration, ideas for action and case stories.
Together with the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) in West Java, Save the Children has been integrating a child-centred corporate social responsibility project in the hospitality sector of Indonesia. The project worked to encourage members to integrate children’s rights into their member’s business operations and strategies. One result of the project was the creation of this toolkit, which included the assistance of academics, several NGOs, and input from child and youth participants. It consists of four tools for children’s rights integration and eight tools that inspire hotels and restaurants in responding to issues and problems that most frequently arise and impact children’s rights.
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Save the Children ...
Children’s rights are an essential investment in a sustainable future. Safeguarding these rights helps build the strong, well-educated communities that are vital to creating stable, inclusive and productive societies. The private sector impacts children’s lives both directly and indirectly, and all companies in all industries – global, regional or local – can make a difference. Business activity influences the daily life of children in a number of ways, from impoverished communities where children are held back from getting an education because they need to support the family with their income, to the marketplace where children react to marketing messages and learn about the world via the many products surrounding them. Companies that want to take part in the movement pushing sustainable development forward, creating the world that we together have formulated in the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030, need to safeguard, empower and consider the opinions of those we should be creating that world together with. Considering children’s rights holds the possibility of enriching your business and easing your way into the challenges of the future. Read these statements from companies and businesses that have incorporated a child rights approach into their work.
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Save the Children
The case study explores IKEA’s commitments to children’s rights. The study looks into how IKEA went from being a company which did not mention children (or their rights) to making them central stakeholders of their company. IKEA is also an advocate, both internally and externally, of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles.
This guide serves to inspire businesses and civil society organizations (CSOs) interested in respecting and supporting children’s rights and specifically, the child’s right to be heard as it relates to the ten Children’s Rights and Business Principles, which were prepared by UNICEF, the UN Global Compact, and Save the Children. It is hoped that businesses and CSOs will reference this guide for critical information relating to children’s participation. This document also provides helpful suggestions on how business, working with civil society, might create space and opportunity for children’s participation within each principle.
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Save the Children Sweden ...
The seventh Global Child Forum at the Stockholm Royal Palace identified some ways that business can contribute to the realisation of children’s rights. Nearly 400 leaders and decision-makers from the private sector, civil society, academia and government came together at the Stockholm Palace for a day full of dialogue, thought- leadership and action to explore new opportunities that would accelerate children’s rights globally. With a lineup of distinguished speakers and panelists, Global Child Forum set the stage for a day of inspiration and innovation on some of the most pressing challenges facing children today.
November 2014 Forum in the Middle East and North Africa marked the first regional Global Child Forum outside Sweden. The Forum aimed at widening the scope of dialogue around children’s rights and business and to include new decision makers with new perspectives from the Arab world. This event in United Arab Emirates gathered some 500 leaders from across the region and the rest of the world, from business, academia, financial institutions, government, media and non-governmental organizations.
Every third person on the planet today is a child. In some regions, almost 50% of the population is under 15 years of age. Therefore any serious company or government sustain ability agenda must include a strong child rights perspective. Our fourth international Global Child Forum at the Royal Palace in Stockholm focused on partnerships for children’s rights – today and for the future – as a way of advancing the children’s rights and sustainability agenda. This Forum Report provides highlights from the presentations, panels and ActionLab discussions.
The views from children in this booklet developed by Save the Children Sweden, are taken from several consultations with children about corporate social responsibility, the Children’s Rights and Business Principles and from child rights reporting, especially regarding the impact of the business sector. Children know a lot. Let's listen to them and take their views into account!
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Save the Children Sweden ...
A guide developed by Save the Children containing information and ideas for consulting with children and young people and collecting their views on the Draft Children’s Rights and Business Principles. It takes the reader through a series of simple steps and activities needed to get started and gives tips to ensure young people's recommendations are accuratley documented. The guidelines can be adapted to suit the particular needs and preferences of the participants with respect to children's rights in the context of business activities. Within this Guide you will find information about how to prepare for the consultation; important details/suggestions for ensuring young people's recommendations are accurately documented; various group activities to support discussion, learning and team building; and finally, some ideas relating to next steps and follow up. This Guide also contains a list of required and recommended resources about children and young people’s participation.
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Save the Children Sweden ...
The World Child &Y outh Forum (later re-named Global Child Forum) was established as an independent multi-stake- holder platform for informed dialogue on how to realise the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The third annual Forum took place on March 22, 2013 at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden with the theme”Children’s Rights – any of your business?”
Young people from Argentina, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Kenya, Paraguay, Sudan and Tanzania were invited to review and share their feedback on the draft version of the Committee on the Rights of the Child's General Comment on Child Rights and Business Sector. To support the process, each group received a consultation package which included: a facilitator’s guide; power-point presentation; summary of the General Comment; and questions and activities for group discussion. The express aim of the consultations was to explore the details of the draft General Comment and what governments should do to ensure business respects children’s rights. This document is a summary of the collected views, comments, and importantly, the recommendations of young people who took part in the various consultations.
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Save the Children
Recently, children in Asia, Africa and Latin America were invited to review and share their feedback on the draft version of the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment on Child Rights and Business Sector. As part of the process, Save the Children produced a Guide containing information and ideas for consulting with children and young people and collecting their view on the General Comment. This Guide provides information on how to get started and prepare for and organize the consultations. The guidelines can be adapted to suit the particular needs, preferences and existing knowledge of the participants with respect to children's rights in the context of business activities. The Guide provides information on the following: Before the consultation:- Child protection considerations- Needed resources- Sending out an invitation During the consultation:- Group Welcome, introductions and icebreakers- Children’s Rights and the CRC- Committee on the Rights of the Child- General Comments- What is Business?- General Comment about Business- Group Discussion
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Save the Children
This paper has been prepared to support you, children and adolescents, to better understand how business affects your lives, families, communities and also your rights. Within these pages you will also learn about the ‘Children’s Rights and Business Principles Initiative’ (CRBI), the first comprehensive set of global standards for child-friendly business practices, developed by Save the Children Sweden together with the UN Global Compact and Unicef. Here you will find out more about what children's rights are, what is meant by the term 'children's participation', and the impact of business on the rights of children. You will also find answers to simple and basic questions about the Principles and at the end there is a list of key words to help you understand the terms used throughout this resource.
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Save the Children Sweden ...
This document summarizes inputs received from over 400 young people aged 7-17 in nine countries: Brazil, Argentina, Philippines, Zambia, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Senegal, Paraguay and Peru. These young people participated in consultations to discuss the Children’s Rights and Business Principles Initiative. They explored: what is business; how does business affect our lives and rights; what role does business have to protect our rights; and more. They also reviewed a draft of the Children’s Rights and Business Principles and gave their detailed recommendations.
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Save the Children Sweden ...
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