3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning

A Documentation Report YUVA

Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

Table of Contents
1. Forward 2. Introduction
     ... . .. .......3 ....4 .4 .5 .6 .6 ..7 ..9 ..15 ..18

Context Child Participation Why Child Participation Rational of the Programme Objective of the Programme

.. .. .. . .. .. .. .. ..

3. Day 1 Child Participation Sharing Experiences 4. Day 2 Leadership Qualities & Team Building 5. Day3 Collective Decision & Plan Way Forward 6. Conclusion 7. Appendix
 About YUVA  References  Schedule

21
..22 ..22 .24 ..25

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

Forward
We, YUVA Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action, have been working for the empowerment of socially, economically and culturally marginalised groups and also enabling the urban poor to achieve their social and economic rights that include housing, basic social & physical infrastructure & services, livelihood, social security, education, protection from violence and participation in governance and decision making for past 26 years. YUVA has been working with the help of the Children for enhancing their protagonism & participation and helps them to realize their rights. In this document we have put together some of the experiences and perceptions related to children s participation in governance that we have gathered over the past three days and tried to convert these into principles and tools that would further the pedagogy and praxis of Children s Participation in Governance. For us, it has been an exciting journey. For the children themselves their right to participation is the opening up of a new and exciting experience. For the first time they see the world of adults, they begin to understand how this world works and what they need to do to intervene in it. This experience is often tinged with disappointment, as at times they find that we, adults, haven t made such a good job of it, but there is also joy in the realisation that we do care and that we have learnt to respect them. This document is an attempt to share the body of knowledge that we have acquired for the past three days and also to raise several questions those still require answers. This is by no means a definitive position as the arena of Children s participation in Governance is only marginally explored. In the course of our work, children constantly reveal new dimensions of themselves and these insights constitute a continual learning process for us, Adults. This document is totally based on the experience of the past 3days of the National Consultation.

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

Introduction:
Since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Child Participation has been the subject of an increasing flood of initiatives, ranging from research and publications to conferences and concrete projects. Over the past twenty years, work has been developed from local to international level, in a wide range of contexts, involving children of all ages, in countries throughout the world and from every conceivable social and economic situation. National and local governments, UN Agencies, international and national NGOs, community groups and schools have started to explore what we mean by consultation, participation, partnership and empowerment. This is still, of course, very much an experimental phase. Different practices have been introduced; different definitions of participation are being explored, different levels of power shared. There are impassioned arguments about the appropriate degree of priority to be afforded to participation from both a practical and a human rights standpoint, and whether it is an end in itself, a means to the end of promoting and protecting human rights, or both. A child is like a bud which blooms into a flower wherever it gets space. It looks beautiful and adds to the ambience of any event. Similarly a child when nurtured and given space grows into a healthy responsible citizen of the country and hence it is important for us to help them develop into a balanced present and future citizen of the nation. India's children account for more than one-third of its population; even then their interests have never been given priority. And their rights have been violated every single day. In order to bring any permanent and sustainable change, we have to ensure holistic development of children. In fact we strongly believe that if children get all the basic rights, the human rights are guaranteed. Children s Participation is not a project, even it s not an event; it is a running theme through every action or intervention and it requires a major paradigm shift. The understanding of participation and the way it is translated into action varies and seems to be defined by the socio-cultural context of the child and the ideological frame surrounding this understanding. However, it s important to arrive at a culturally neutral definition of children s participation, where the principles are common, though the manifestations may vary according to the situation of children. Signing/ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an acknowledgement of a spectrum of children s rights, including their right to participate in decisions that affect their lives, the basis of realizing all other rights. Translating this vision into practice is a challenge that the development sector in India is gradually taking on as its vision for Children s Rights. Participation in governance referred to in the title also refers to the shift of focus from other forms of decorative, tokenistic and adultled child participation to empowered and informed participation in decision-making in public and private domains including families, communities, and local, national and international governance. Children s participation should enhance children s personhood. Often their individual growth is side lined, especially when they are a part of an organisation. Children s participation should also be in keeping with their capacity and ability and contribute positively to the process of children s growth and development. However, all this operates within the context of children s rights and their participation is the means by which children realise their rights.
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

 The Context:
The concept of the best interest of the child , an underlying framework for the realization of the CRC implicitly guarantees the participation of children in all decisions concerning them and the CRC is the first international instrument that very strongly advocates for the participation of children and their right to form associations. The CRC may be divided into three areas of focus. They are the three P s. The articles concerning the protection of children, those related to the provision of services to children and those concerning participation or the recognition of children as political beings with both civil and political rights. Many of us seem to miss the vital link between provision and protection with the right to participation. When read together, this third element gives a whole new dimension to the first two, that children have a right to determine the nature and quality of all protection and provision that they have a right to. In fact this would make it mandatory that all interventions must be designed with the active and informed participation of the children concerned. Child rights is still not understood and accepted by the society. After two decades of CRC s ratification it is still not widely accepted in general and sensitivity seems to be lacking. Children are still looked upon as beneficiaries. Vulnerable children receive more of mercy and pity from the society. Schooling children often are not given space in decision making neither in their families nor in the communities, do they come from. Currently, there seems to be a change in the government thinking and the planning they foresee. They do talk about child rights and also talk about forming children s groups in school which seems to be the rarest of the rare. Given this scenario, it becomes more important for us to play the role of a catalyst which will help to build children s group and transform them into advocacy agents. This is possible only when we involve children actively in all that we plan and envisage. This will help them to discover their potentials and utilize them wherever space is available.

 Child Participation:
A definition of child participation is children influencing issues affecting their lives, by speaking out or taking action in partnership with adults . The energy behind child participation comes from:  the growing emphasis on child rights.  good community development practice which enables people to address their own problems. A baby cannot be expected to make a logical decision, while a child of seven years old should not be expected to take the burdens and responsibilities of an adult. However, all children should be involved and consulted in some way on matters that affect their lives. Children are people with dignity. Their views should be listened to and respected in the same way as those of adults. Their participation can enable development projects to meet the needs of all in the community. Children often want to participate but are not allowed to by adults. This may be due to cultural and social perceptions of children as lacking skills and being unable to express their thoughts. There is also a fear that children may become too independent and
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai disrespectful of adults. Child participation is an essential part of good development practice. The involvement of children in development projects and community life can reveal new perspectives on problems, create more unity and trust within the community, & develop the skills of the next generation of community leaders and members. Child participation can provide the roots for sustainable development. This consultation explores child participation in governance and how it can be improved. It shares ideas and tools that can help organizations in their work with children.

 Why Child Participation?

In order to encourage children to serve others, we need to ensure that they can participate in family, church and community life. We should be aware of the legal and logical reasons for encouraging child participation: y Under international law, children have the right to be consulted in all decisions concerning their lives. Most countries have signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to Article 12 of the Convention, children must be asked to give their opinions about all matters affecting them, including in legal and administrative proceedings. This should take into account the age and maturity of the child . Children know a lot about their own lives. Often, decisions are made about children s lives based on information provided only by adults. Yet adults cannot think, feel and see life as a child does. Adults often make assumptions about what information children are able, or not able, to provide. If adults do not listen to children, the decisions that they make for children may have a negative, rather than a positive, impact. Information provided by children can be used alongside information provided by adults.

Children s natural environment for growth and well-being is the family. However, due to pressures on families around the world, many children grow up with one or no parent or in situations of abuse and neglect. This can result in children taking on responsibility to provide for their brothers and sisters, or being forced to live on the streets to avoid domestic violence and poverty. These children have to become independent earlier than other children. Participation in community life becomes particularly important for these children. They need to be able to make good decisions and protect themselves.

 Rationale of the Programme:

Children rarely get the opportunity to speak their mind on issues and decisions that have a significant effect on their lives. We have a tendency to underestimate their ability to articulate and express their views views that can be both thoughtful and insightful. This is unfortunate, as children possess the special ability of observing small but significant details that adults often overlook. We can foster the growth of children who face daunting
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai circumstances, by enabling them to proactively participate in making decisions that would affect their lives. Several such processes and work is planned and organized all over the country and globally. Consistent works on raising children s voices are in progress. Many children have developed themselves as good leaders and human beings and have represented at various local and international forum. The children s Collectives have raised relevant issues at local, state, national & international level. Majority of these children are from underprivileged background and have proved that if given an opportunity, they can do wonders. Very few attempts of bringing all these children s collective on one forum have been done. We had tried it during Mumbai WSF 2004 under the banner of CR4WSF and at ISF 2006. One needs to admit that there are very empowering processes that children benefit from. We as NGOs too have failed miserably since we end up giving pure tokenism in the name of participation. There is no one clear understanding as far as Right to participation is concerned. It is very important for us to identify best practices and replicate processes to make it more effective. Such processes will help us further inculcate the value of child to child learning and bring in solidarity among children. We can also mainstream advocacy processes that would help us reach to a large number of children.

 Objectives
The main objectives are: y y y To bring children together on one platform to learn, share and extend their solidarity to bring larger social change. To facilitate the learning process of how different children s collective function. To strengthen network and advocate the best practices that can be replicated and reached out to large number of children and make children s participation sustainable.

For getting these objectives, we planned to organize the 3rd National Children s Consultation in Mumbai from June 1st to June 3rd, 2011. There will be three days process where each group (organization) will participate and share their work and processes. This will provide space to learn from each other. Apart from this, we will do some training on leadership, team building, problems solving etc. using experimental games. In the closing session, all the children will share their thought. These three days will provide space for knowing each other with diverse background of the children who come from different parts of the country. This consultation will firstly provide opportunities for children to build contacts and learn about different cultures and their work. Secondly, the best practices can be shared and with our enhanced learning can be replicated. Finally, we can work together on advocacy to mainstream these learning of children s participation.

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

Day 1 Child Participation Sharing Experience

Picture 1 On June 1, coinciding with the International Children s Day, the 3rd National Children's Consultation was held in Mumbai - an event involving more than 75 children from different States of India, i.e. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka. More than 8 NGOs participated in this conference, which is organized by YUVA. The main objective of day one was to share experiences. After the registration, the consultation started with the ice breaking game. On the same time, Vidiyal s children decorate the stage with flowers (see picture 1). Throughout the game, Dinesh Mishra the responsible person for this particular game told the children what is the main objective of the consultation. According to him, Participation is a human rights principle, and as such, it is not a gift or privilege bestowed by adults on children, but the right of every child capable of expressing a view. In other words, it is a right for all children especially for those who are the most marginalized and vulnerable in society. Through the game, Dinesh Mishra gave a very brief idea about the meanings of participation, problems of participation, how to achieve it etc. to children. Children s civil rights are guaranteed in the UNCRC, along with rights to health care, education, leisure time and protection from abuse, exploitation and violence. Children have a right to participate by expressing their opinions on decisions that affect their lives. Children also have the right to organize themselves to represent their own interests, depending on the prevailing political systems and culture. Some countries have set up structures for children such as youth councils or children s parliaments. For this, YUVA started the Child Parliament to achieve the rights. These are channels for children s views to be made known, and also provide opportunities to learn citizenship skills. Children s participation is not best achieved through inviting them to major events or conferences or by involving them in a single piece of research. To be most effective, participation requires widespread changes in political and institutional structures, as well as in attitudes, values and cultural practices. Then Dinesh started to play the game Cats & Dogs a famous participatory method. At the end, he said, We need participation through hand, we have to solve all the problems together, we have to
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai help each other to solve the problems, we need more participation. In the game, each group said the current situation and problems of children in their region, enthusiastically explaining to the rest how they would solve them and how outraged they felt about child exploitation. After this, Children are asked to write down about what they want from the work shop, means what to do and what not to do. They got blue papers on which they have to write what to do and in the Yellow Paper, they told to write what not to do. They called it Ground Rules .

Picture 2 Alpa Vora and Subham, Mayor After this, Mrs. Alpa Vora, Subham and Ms Rubina Mayor of BASS lightened the candle. Ms Arokia Mary translated all the conversation for our South Indian friends. In this occasion, she gave a very brief idea about the work of YUVA and the Lokshabha Manifesto. Ms Alpa Vora was requested to say something about child participation and the objective of it.

Picture 3 - My Rights are Your Rights Ms Alpa Vora said that she is extremely happy to be a part of YUVA and the consultation programme. Then she said something about the Child Participation, problems of it and the process of participation. According to her, the definition of children s participation is not
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai rigid. Around the world, children are increasingly taking part in public decisions. They are speaking out at local, national and international forums, and working for common causes within different cultural traditions and political systems. In this context, participation refers to public processes in which people are involved in decision making, either directly or through representatives. Participation is meaningful when public information is widely available; Decisions must be made cooperatively, through the joint formulation of plans and policies, and in the shared management of institutions and services. Organizing quality participation takes times. There is a danger of imposing burdens on children without recognizing that adults also have responsibilities. Remembering some key principles, and referring to successful examples of children s participation, will help to ensure that their participation is effective in the long term. She said, adults are not willing to recognize the child and also not willing to give space in power structure. Adults must be the leaders and to be precise, only men can be leaders. Children can t change these things, because they are not in the power. Children cannot be a part of the change. Adults have a duty to listen and respond, and a duty to protect children s interests. It has become common to feature child speakers at large conferences, but such arrangements usually fail to shape policies. It is more effective to start with participation at local levels, where it is more meaningful for everyone. If children are invited to meetings where adults do not listen to their views, or where they present plans but receive no response, they often become disillusioned and angry. This does not build a positive view of citizenship and public service. If children do attend public meetings, ensure there is appropriate follow up. Then she gave lots of good examples where Child Participation has successful. These stories told us, how the children bring changes in the society. Every Child has good qualities and we, the adults have to assure the child that they have to get proper exposser. Santosh Shinde s programme on sharing experiences gave the children and organizations a platform to express their views about the condition of children in their respective states. He distributed all the children in 6 different groups which were basically based on 4 different states (3 groups were from Maharashtra and each one from Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Gujarat). Santosh told every group to say something about their current situation of children in their respective states with special emphasis on education, entertainment, services etc.

Picture 4 One Maharashtra Group

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai According to the group of Gujarat, the condition of slum children is not good in the state. According to them, the schools are so far from house and for this, it s not possible for a child to go to school. The availability of public transport is really bad and for this the child are forced not to go to school. Coming from a lower economic background, it s not possible for them to rent an auto for a month. There economic condition is so bad which forced their parents to tell them to go for work not for study. The girl child is more neglected than the boy one. Sanitation is worst and they don t have any proper knowledge of hygiene. Health care centre is not available in the slums. The condition of work is really bad and it is worst for the construction workers. According to Drishtee, a child from Gujarat, there are a plenty numbers of playgrounds & parks but they are not allowed to be there. There is a nominal fee for getting the entry to the parks and they are unable to pay the fee. Maximum parks are supported by private corporate. The basic amenities are not available. Their houses are kuchaa and roads are not good in condition, for this, in monsoon time, it s not possible for them to go to school. Still child marriage is happening & girls under the age 12, got married. They said these things to police. They did a child rights audit for Vistar. They really want to solve these issues and for this, they formed Anand Nagar Vasti Bal Sena.

Picture 5 Gujarat Group s Presentation According to one of the Mumbai groups, they are deprived, they can t able to claim their basic rights, they are not getting education, and live in slums forced them to be more vulnerable. The living condition is so bad. They are mainly working in hotels, restaurants and factories. A large number of children are working in animal husbandry and dairy firm. The girls are working as domestic workers. Their situation is really bad and they are extremely exploited at work. A large number of children are working in housing construction. The child doesn t get proper salary. They want to study but the family pressure forced them not to do that. They don t know how to cope from this situation. For this, they just asked about the basic rights. According to the Tamilnadu group, the status of children is Tamilnadu is not good. They are not in good or not in bad. The gender ratio in Tamilnadu is really bad, where Madurai is doing well but Coimbatore situation is worst in the state. Coimbatore is an industrial area and for this, a large number of children are working there. Child labour is increasing day by day and
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai labour law is not implemented properly. There are a plenty numbers of Parks but everyone charges 2 to 3 Rs for the entry. For this, the poor children can t able to get play in the parks. Poverty is increasing day by day and due to poverty, the children are forced to go to work. Child marriage is still going in the economically weaker section of the community. Though there are Child Welfare Officers, Juvenile Justice Board, special schemes for children but the child protection things is not in good condition. NCPCR is not going well. Children organization fought against school fees. According to them, they can t change the situation through awareness, for getting justice, everyone have to cooperate with them. According to the Karnataka group, there are 7.18 million children in the state (2001 Census). The Gender ratio is not good. According to the Census 2011, the ratio is 910 female per 1000 male. The condition of Udupi district is really bad. Maximum female foeticide is happened in this district. According Chitra Bhumika, a member of the Karnataka team, 60% children is going to school and the rest are either opt for work or drop out from school due to poverty. In this state, there are 51900 schools and in all of these, the mid-day meal scheme is going on but the quality of food which is provided is really bad and it s not possible to eat those. Rice is too old and it s not good to eat that rice. The student complained about this things but nothing has been happened. The schools are so far from the house and it s not possible for them to go to school every day through walking. This forced them not to go to school. Due to unavailability of local transport in rural areas, the drop-out rate is much higher in rural areas than from urban. Previously, the government launched a scheme through which the girl child got bicycle to after 8th standards and for this particular scheme, there is a drastic improvement in girls child education. Now, the Govt. stopped the schemes. Dropout rate among migrant community is much higher than the rural poor mass. For the migrant workers children, the Government decides to open tent school but still, the tent school has not been done by the government. But with the help of this organization, the government just started the tent school for migrant workers children in Bangalore. Child marriage is still going on in the state, specifically in Bijapur or Belwari district. Then, the Karnataka group said about the Bhima Sangha and its nature of work. According to them, Bhima Sangha represents 13,000 children in Karnataka state. It emerged in 1990 out of the fieldwork done in the city of Bangalore. One of their earliest campaigns petitioned the government for safe working conditions, after a 1991 explosion in a fireworks factory had killed 40 child workers. Since then, Bhima Sangha has conducted its own research and campaigns on a range of issues, including community consumption of alcohol, child marriage and access to education. In 1995, the group launched Makkala Panchayats, or children s governments, in five districts. They encouraged all village children in the area to take part in elections to choose a representative forum of child councillors. Reserved seats for girls and children with disabilities were included on the council. The Makkala Panchayats are a structure through which the children represent their concerns to the government. Supportive adults played a role through an accompanying task force, selected from local government officials and an adult children s friend (Makkala Mitra) who work together to access the resources that the children need to do the work. Bhima Sangha has been involved in representing concerns at national and international levels, through consultations with other organisations of working children and making recommendations to the United Nations General Assembly, Special Session on Children in 2002. In 2009, Lokshabha and Panchayat
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai election, they organized a campaign and through which they raise the voice of the poor children to the MPs. They had a Slogan also My vote is for save, My vote is not for same . After the Karnataka presentation, a group from Maharashtra presented their papers. According to the group, they are from Mumbai. Mumbai is so expensive. It s tough for them to survive in Mumbai. For this, their family told them, to go to work and earn money for their survival. Parents are unable to pay the fees. For this, they are stopped to go to school. Sometimes, parents are disabled or sick and they are the only earning member in the family. So, they are forced to go to work. The working condition is really bad. The children are abused both economically and sexually in the work place. The rate of child trafficking is so high in Mumbai. Child marriage is another problem. They said, last year 9 girls child got married. The children mainly live in slums. The environment is really polluted. There is no health care centre. There is no play ground. The child can t go anyplace due to less money. They want to go to cinema hall but the tickets are so expensive, it s not possible for them to visit cinema halls for movies. Though they don t have any other ways of entertainment, for this, the children are now addicted for mobiles. They only play with mobiles. The quality of education in BMC schools is so bad. The BMC schools don t have any play ground, games accessories, books and library. The educational infrastructure is so poor in the BMC schools. The schools are unable to provide proper facilities. Even, they don t have proper seating arrangements. The teachers behaved in a very bad way. Day by day, the children are losing their interest to go to school. If they asked questions to teachers, teachers slapped them. For this, now, they are not willing to ask questions. There is no computer class. In the mason, it s very difficult for them to go to school. The children have lots of complain against the schools and teachers. According to them, the teachers are not coming to schools every day. Even, they are not taking care of the students. After all the presentation, the Gujarat people organize a game. The children really enjoyed it a lot. The mantra of the game was Hukka Lele, Chiki Chiki Bumbum, and Musa Musa Musa . After the game, Sitaram Shelar conducted a session on governance and democratic issues, how it works in India. He gave a very good clear cut idea about democracy to the children. He told the importance of rules and regulation, how it works etc in a very lucid way. According to him, the term refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, & the system of government by which they are organized. Government is the means by which state policy is enforced. Then he gave a very brief idea about democracy. According to him, democracy is a form of government in which all eligible people have an equal say in the decisions making process that effect their lives. Through this concept of democracy, rules, government, he tries to relate all these to the daily lives. According to him, if there is no rules and regulation in schools and families, then what will be happen? Nothing will work at the end of the day. There will be anarchy. Then he said about different form of democracy. Democracy is taken a number of forms in practice. These are Representative, Parliamentary, Presidential, Liberal, Semi-Liberal, Direct, Participatory, Inclusive democracy etc. Among this all, he specially emphasized on representative, direct and participatory democracy. According to him, representative democracy involves all sections of people for the selection of government. Parliamentary democracy is a representative democracy where government is appointed by parliamentary representatives as opposed to presidential rules where the President is both the Head of the
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai State and the Head of the Government. Direct democracy is a political system, where the citizens can be participated in decision making personally, contrary to relying on representatives. Then he told the different types of government in India, how it work etc. There are 3 types of Government - Central Government, State Government and Local Government. He said, in democracy, people are entitled to practice his/her basic rights. But in India, it s very difficult to exercise the rights. The poor don t have any voice. They can t say anything, they can t exercise their rights. They are the vulnerable. Due to live in Poverty, they are the marginalised one. We have to raise their voice. On the same day, the children watched Stanley ka Dabba. They really enjoyed the movie.

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

Day 2 Leadership Qualities & Team Building

The second day started with the dance and music performances by Vidiyal people. Through the dance and the music they represent the Tamilnadu culture and after the performances, all the children are discussed all yesterday s programme. Some of them were very impressed by Santosh Shinde s programme and the movie Stanly ka Dabba touched them so much. From the yesterday s different programmes, they understand that everybody have rights. The children also have own right and they understand all these through the games and the lessons. According to the children, games are more participatory in approaches. After this programme, they planted a tree in the ceremonial ground. After all these discussion, the Vidiyal people organized a participatory game. For this game, all the children are distributed in 5 groups and they have to stand in a line. They are also asked to make sounds of a transport train, aero plane. All the children really enjoyed the game.

Picture 6 - Games After this games, Parul Sheth took a session on leadership qualities. She distributed all the children in 8 groups and for this session, she gave 8 pictures. Every group has to draw one picture and the pictures must be same in quality. The children were happy to draw pictures. In this time, she was behaved so rudely and she was so strict. After this drawing, she told the children to draw another pictures. In this case, there is no instruction and they can draw anything. After this drawing session, Parul Sheth asked to different groups about the session. What they think about it? And she also told that, in the first drawing, they got the instruction or somehow they are forced to do the same but in the second one, they can choose. Bhaskar, one of the group members, told that he liked the second one. Because in the second one, he can use lots of colors of his own choice, there is no compulsion, no domination. He expressed whatever he think, he take his own decision without any instruction. But in the first one, he can t able to express his view. It s totally dominated. The first picture is so easy to draw but it is totally instructed. There is no concept of participation in the first one. Through this task, Parul Sheth is trying to give a lesson to the children that they also have many rights and through the participation, they can exercise their rights. So, the total activity is mainly
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai focusing on rights to participation. Then she said something about participation What it is? In participation, we can express our self. According to a group of Mumbai, they got the space what they want in the second drawing but in the first one, they feel the power of domination. Adults mostly forced the children. They thought, the child can t able to take decision. The adults have the power and for this, they just forced the children to do the work with instruction. Adults have to give a space to the children. Children s participation becomes more credible and respected when child leaders are clearly legitimate representatives of a group. There are obvious differences in power and status between the children and the adults. These can be minimized. Adults should receive training, so that they know how to work with children in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The most effective children s participation occurs when it is a part of the normal way of taking public decisions. According to her, for empowering owns self, we have to express our idea, thoughts. We have to analyze and use all the available information for empowering owns self. After this session, Mr. Jim arranged a programme on team building. He told, we can t clap for using our one hand. When we use both of the hand, we can clap with more sound. Adults thought, as a child, we can t solve our problems. But as a child, we have to understand our own capacity and also have to take own initiative to resolve the issues. If everyone joins together, there will be a change. For understanding this particular comment, he organized a game. He distributed all the children in two groups and formed a big circle. He arranged the circle in an alternative way, one red one blue then red again. There was a competition among the two groups (teams). For the game, he used two markers, one is red and another one is blue and gave a proper instruction how to play the game. Each of the team or groups got one markers. One group is representing red and another one is representing blue. He gave the red maker to a member of the group and told that he has to give it to another member of his group. Another group, blue group has to follow the same thing. The competition is, who will complete the circle first will won the game. The blue team got 4 points and the red team got 1 points. Through this game, he was trying to give the conception of term work. When we work together, we get more energy. After this, he told a story. The story was .. There is a jungle. In that jungle, all the animals live together. Like other Jungle, Lion is the king of it and he (the lion) posses all the ancestor s things. The lion thought, he has the right to control the jungle and for this, he hunts hundreds of animals and birds in a day. For this work, all the creatures are always live in fear. They can t say anything against the lion s attitude. If they want to say something against the lion, then the lion will kill themselves. They couldn t express themselves. Everyone knows this, they talk among themselves, but they can t able to find the solution. If you are a deer in that jungle what will you do? After saying this story, he asked the children, what they will do, if they are in that Jungle? One of the children was replying that he may opt for another jungle. Someone said, they will make a team and they will go to meet the lion & try to make a solution. Another child told that they will make a group, go together to meet the lion and told the lion that there is another lion, who is also the king, in the jungle. Then they will show a mirror to him and the lion will feel insecure. Then Mr. Jim told, like the lion, in India, there are lots of lions. Caste, class, wealth are those lion. We have to tackle them in a very good way. We can t run away from this
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai situation or problem. We have to solve those problems together. If we have strong desires of change, we can positively change the situation. We have to change the society and through this change, we can get our rights. On the same day, children opted for sightseeing in city of Mumbai.

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

Day 3 Collective Decision & Plan Way Forward

The third day started with the song Hame apne apko jeene do, Ek saath kadam barate jana hain . Shaishav organized a programme and through the programme they recalled yesterday s activity. After these things, Mr. Jim took a session on collective decision. He divided all children in a 36 different groups and in each group, there are two members. One member is called as A & another one is B. A has to close his fist and B has to try to open it with in a time. Through this game, Mr. Jim is trying to give a lesson on how to achieve your goals. At the end of the game, he asked to the children what they learnt from this game. Some of them told if we are desperate to get something, definitely we will get it. So, we have to keep trying. When Mr. Jim asked the children to share their experiences about the game, a girl called, Sandhya told for the sake of friendship, she opened her fist. Some of the children told that they ended up in fight. But according to Shital Sindhouse, in a friendship, we are friend but when we are in a game, we are not friend at all, we are just competitors. If we are in a friendship, compromise is there but in game no compromise. One girl followed a different way. She requested the boy to open his fist and the guy just opened it. After this lesson, Mr. Jim told, we always talked about unity, diversity, unity in diversity but in reality, still we are divided by caste, by class, by language, by religion, by region. As a children organisation, we have to learn how to work collectively. If you work collectively, you can solve all this issues. If you share your problems with others, it is easy to get the solution. In collective leadership, we have to respect each other. Collectively we can change the situation. We can achieve our goals by helping each other s work.

Picture 7 Collective Action Game In another game, Mr. Jim distributed all the children in 4 different groups and asked them to select a leader for their group. After a certain period of time, when they already selected the leader, then Mr. Jim asked why the group chooses this person. For this answer, maximum children said that the person is good in behavior, has a sporting sprit which helps to maintain a group. They are caring also. For this, they choose them. After this game, Mr. Jim took another session on collective action. With his instruction, the children made 4 human chains to show
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai their solidarity with each other. After Mr. Jims programme, Ms Parul Sheth took a concluding session on future goals of different children organization s and how can it helps to form a proper initiative for child participation. She gave some points to all the children groups when to meet, where to meet, who will take the responsibility, how to stay connected and communicated with each other etc. and she also told that they have to decide a name for this chapter which will helps them to work in various issues. After this, every groups which is basically state wise tried to prepare a plan of action. After all this things, DWCD Minister, Maharashtra Madam Varsha Gaikwad came and had taken the chief guest position for this consultation. She said that the children are always been neglected by the adults. We, the adults, have to prove that we are together with the children. We have to take care of them. They are the future of the nation. If we create some mistakes, then our future will be in mess. So, we have to give a proper environment to every child for their good upbringing. After this speech, she released the book and said her thanks to all for making this consultation.

Picture 8 Madam Varsha Gaikwad with BASS

Picture 9 A Child Present the Group Plan After the speech of Madam Varsha Gaikwad, every group shred their plan. Mr. Jim from Tamilnadu said we have to work together. If we work together then we can solve the troubles.
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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai Many times, child participation faced questions. From the Government to teacher, Teacher to Parents asked who could it be possible. We have to work together and give them all the answers. Adults always want to see child as beneficiaries. They always forget that the child is also a living subject. Children start participation when they born in mother womb and actively participated when they born. For this participation, lots of organization is struggling to fight for children participation. We have to make contact with each other. We have to organize a meeting in a year for all our friends. We have to understand all others work and plan and through this, we can work for the children. According to the Mumbai groups, they need more communication strategy and through with they can solve all the problems. The 1098 have to be more active. They said, with the help of all organisations, the children have to publish a newspaper where they can write about their problems and what they did to solve this problem. The language must be in own vernacular one. The NGOs will help them to translate all the stories. Even they can send letters to their friends.

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

Conclusion:
A mere three days of consultation cannot undo years of conditioning about societal attitudes and practices including about the relationship between the children and social change. If the rights-based child participation work is to be strengthened and support the realization of children s rights, concerted efforts have to be made in the long term with a strategic vision of empowering children as we struggle to build an egalitarian and peaceful society. To participate is a natural instinct. It is also natural to protect one s space and sometimes even prevent others from sharing it. Children are attempting to participate all the time. We the adults have a choice - to be the facilitators & partners in this struggle of our children or to continue to hinder it. If we chose to be the former, the learning that we have to undergo is rigorous and complex. The best thing of this consultation is, it firstly provided an opportunity for children to build contacts and learn about different cultures and their work. The consultation came with a National Platform of children called Federation of children movements for participation.

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai

Appendix:  About YUVA

YUVA has been working in cities for the empowerment of socially, economically and culturally marginalised groups for the past twenty-six years1. YUVA s activities in cities have been oriented towards enabling the urban poor to achieve their social and economic rights that include housing, basic social and physical infrastructure and services, livelihood, social security, education, protection from violence and participation in governance and decision making. What began as a youth organisation in the Mumbai suburb of Jogeshwari has expanded to include city, state and national-level interventions on housing, livelihood and rights of children, women and youth through action organisation, capacity building, research and advocacy. Since inception, YUVA has consciously chosen to implement its development agenda by engaging with local, community based organisations. This has involved strengthening existing organisations to understand and respond effectively to the local development issues, and encouraging new formations such as community action groups, groups of women, youth, children and informal sector workers to engage in development. Working on issues of children s right has been a major area of intervention ever since YUVA was founded. Our intervention with children draws from the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Right of Child (UNCRC) and our Constitution. We work with children from the streets, slums and pavements of Mumbai, to ensure the fulfilment and promotion of their basic rights to a life with security, dignity and peace. Over the two decades, YUVA has worked to create alternative approaches for children to access basic services like shelter, education and health, through the day-night open shelter for street children (Ghar Ho To Haisa), the support schools for children of a nomadic community in Mumbai (Durgamata Gyan Mandir) and the training of children as health practitioners (the Bal Doctor programs). The Bal Shikshak Program has also been a model of children-led promotion of right to education through support classes by the older children for weaker children in the community and collective community drives for school enrolment. Apart from this, YUVA has been part of the conceptualisation and implementation of CHILDLINE as a partner-collaborative organisation of CHILDLINE. Our work through CHILDLINE has allowed for direct interventions with street children as well as sensitisation processes with allied systems such Police, Education, Health and Judiciary. Over the past few years, YUVA has also worked towards the building of a children s organisation called Bal Adhikar Sangharsh Sanghatan (BASS), with children living in slums, pavements and on streets. The focus of BASS has been to develop the understanding of the children on their rights, so as to be able to effectively engage in development and implementation of child-friendly policies. The areas BASS has been focusing on are their right

YUVA has its direct urban interventions in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar region and Nagpur.

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai to education, health, housing and issues of child labour. Many of the 1st generation of BASS have developed as active youth in our youth development program.

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3rd Children s National Consultation Moving Together for Experimenting Our Learning 1st -3rd June, 2011, Mumbai  References: Children s Participation, Roger Hart, UNICEF/Earthscan, New York, 1997 Children s Participation: from Tokenism to Citizenship, Roger Hart. UNICEF International Children Development Centre, Florence, 1992 Children s Rights: Turning Principles into Practice, A. Petren & J. Himes. Save the Children and UNICEF, Stockholm, 2000 Empowering Children and Young People, Children s Rights Office/Save the Children, London, 1996 Never Too Young: How Young Children Can Take Responsibility and Make Decisions: A Handbook for Early Years Workers. National Early Years Network/ Save the Children, London, 1997 Taking Part: Children s Participation in Decision-Making, G. Lansdown. Institute of Public Policy Research, London, 1995

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