Thursday, July 06, 2006
Oledan: First step
By Radzini Oledan
Spice of Life
HARD AS it may be, the participation of children in development activities and in matters affecting their lives will determine the sustainability or failure of our programs.
Project implementers have yet to move past the stage of letting children sing and dance during the Children's Month in October or as part of entertainment spiels during programs and conferences.
It has yet to do away with requiring children to relentlessly practice as part of school requirement and stay under the heat of the sun to compete and entertain foreign and local guests during festivities.
Children and youth have yet to actively take part in public decision making and in project undertakings that could lead to improved service development, increase their citizenship and social inclusion, and widen their personal development.
Moving past traditional activities that involve youth, the participation of children does not simply mean "taking part" or "being present" in programs and events but as having some influence over decision and action.
This requires developing new child and youth-adult relationships, which is rooted in mutual trust and respect and engages in dialogue.
What we may need is to develop a culture that put all children and young people at the center of our endeavor. It challenges a culture, which practice that all children and young people will be listened to about all decisions- both personal and public-that affect their lives.
Participation is a political process about shifting power and changing relationships.
This means moving past stereotypes, putting aside judgments and values, and being guided by the expressed needs and interests of children and youth.
In governance, there is a need to develop a norm that effectively engages with children and young people. The result of which should be better policies and services that address automatic social exclusion as a result of poverty and make sure every young person benefits fully from the services and policies designed to help them.
It must be recognized however, that achieving and increasing the range and effectiveness of children and young people's involvement in the design of policies and services will be a gradual process, taking time and commitment.
In some areas, there may be a need to examine how resources are allocated for policy development and communications, so that the different needs of children and young people in the processes are systematically included.
For the most part this is about a change of culture as much as a question of new resources.
Children could and should be involved to a greater degree as active participants in project planning, implementation, management, monitoring and evaluation that will lead to the refocus of projects from its current service-delivery approach that treats children as beneficiaries of "adult-dominated" services.
It should focus toward promoting the principle that children be allowed the opportunity to speak for themselves rather than having others, usually adults speaking on their behalf.
Everyday, we are constantly challenged by the need to reconstruct our understanding of childhood and, with the children themselves, to seek avenues that would not only allow their voices to be heard but that would allow them the space and the security to become even more capable social actors in their own right.
We all take the first step to a longer journey.
Email comments at roledan@gmail.com
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