Child Participation
Young people around the world are often relegated to the sidelines 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 recognised. 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 companies 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.
Take the next step
Read our Children’s Participation Guide to find out how to integrate a youth perspective into business decision-making processes.
Microsoft: Technology to respect and promote child rights in the age of COVID-19
Read about how global technology company Microsoft seeks to support children’s access to education and information while ensuring their safety online.
Vodafone: Demonstrating an end-to-end commitment to children’s rights
Vodafone is working actively to strengthen children’s rights across its business - find out how in our case study!
Global Benchmark Report - The State of Children's Rights and Business 2021
Are companies prioritizing children’s rights among all the other issues on the sustainability agenda? Learn more from our Global Benchmark - The State of Children's Rights and Business 2021
The State of Children's Rights and Business in Southeast Asia 2020
The State of Children's Rights and Business in Southeast Asia 2020
Listening and learning: Top 10 children’s rights issues for business to consider
To mark Global Child Forum’s ten-year anniversary, Désirée Abrahams asked both adults and children, what they considered the top 10 most important child right’s issues for business to consider in the next decade. In this blog post, she shares her reflections on the process and the survey’s findings
Time to Listen: Incorporating children's voices in business decisions
At the 10th Global Child Forum, Fauza and Kesia, two youth workers and members of the Indonesian Children's Advisory Committee shared their message to business on behalf of the world's working children.
Toolkit Juara Child-Friendly Business: A guidance for business (hotel and restaurant) integrating children’s rights
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.
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.
IKEA’s broadening perspective on the best interest of the child
How did IKEA go from not mentioning child rights to making children central stakeholders of their company? Read our report to find out more.
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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.