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The editorial of this special issue on Children's Participation: evaluating effectiveness discusses the focus of the issue and gives details of the guest editor.
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Children under the age of 18 years represent 62 percent of the poor in Uganda. To date, their perspective has not been incorporated in the many poverty analyses that have been conducted. The survey reported in this paper asked children between the ages of 10 and 14 years about their perceptions of poverty, and also about the effectiveness of local government in addressing issues of concern to them. The research was conducted in three clusters: qualitative assessment of childrenÆs perceptions, using child-focussed participative methods (e.g. role play, spider diagrams, discussion groups, individual interviews etc.); secondary source research and semi-structured interviews with adults concerning trends in different categories of vulnerable children (e.g. disabled children, children affected by HIV/AIDS, street children, children affected by war, orphans etc.); structured interviews with children regarding the level of deprivation among children convicted for criminal offences, the characteristics of these children, and how these might link to petty criminal behaviour; and literature review synthesising findings from child poverty studies in Uganda. The survey found that children have a different perspective on poverty from that of the adult key informants consulted in the study sample; they have a positive view of their own potential role in mitigating poverty, and are highly critical of the current performance of local government.
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This paper seeks to suggest certain principles of good governance for children, drawing on examples of local city governments from around the world that have addressed childrens needs in new ways. It does not focus on what was done in these cases, but rather the principles behind these actions that can be transferred from city to city. The paper examines the responsibility of different authorities and service providers towards children, and the importance of defining these responsibilities and integrating them into public agencies agendas. It looks at definitions of good governance and the evaluation of the quality of the relationship between government institutions and civil society. It proposes that good governance for children means ensuring a web of local institutions that warrant service provision, protection and participation of children. This includes making sure that children feel that their views and needs are taken seriously. The role of local government is examined, and innovative initiatives for involving children in local governance are analysed. The discussion leads up to conclusions on how to create incentives for local action and developing a local plan. Factors facilitating the process are proposed such as national constitutions that support rights-based approaches; bottom-up democratic pressure; decentralisation; national legislation; national government commitment for support; international human rights conventions; and top-down democratic safe-guards for political rights and support for local democracy. The paper also focuses especially on the importance of information systems; training for those who deal with children; learning from othersÆ experiences; integrating support of children in all areas of governance; and cities working for and with parents. Text boxes are included through the paper, presenting and analysing different examples of city governance involving children (e.g. PRODEL in Nicaragua and the Childrens Participatory Budget Council in Barra Mansa, Brazil).
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GROW is an indigenous NGO operating in the Mokhotlong district of Lesotho. The focus of their programmes have shifted in recent years to address the issue surrounding HIV/AIDS. This article presents a participatory, community-based approach to possible strategies of alleviating the burdens faced by orphaned children. Members of the GROW health and nutrition team initially met with 27 people identified as caregivers of orphaned children to discuss needs and possible solutions. The article looks at how a support network was developed and how this empowered both the children and the communities in the challenges they faced.
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This article compares findings deduced from participatory appraisal techniques with those obtained by more conventional assessments, notably household surveys and specifically those drawn from a local, recently revised census. Its particular focus is on measuring wellbeing in an area in Mali, with particular reference to household food security and child under-nutrition. It investigates how the different methods of assessment can reveal discrepancies relative to the method of data collection used which impact in a contradictory way on deductions.
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As part of the 50th issue of PLA Notes, this article provides an introductory overview of both critical reflections as well as future directions of participatory learning and action. The articles compiled in the 50th edition speak from personal analyses and experiences. This article describes the process and products of a writeshop, held at IDS, where the participants came up with a timeline of participatory development based on their experiences. The main themes identified then formed the basis for the articles in this special issue of PLA Notes, including literacy, adult education and empowerment; participatory communications; sexual and reproductive health and well-being; gender and development; children's participation; agriculture, livestock and fisheries; people-centred approaches for natural resource management; urban participatory development; participation and well-being; monitoring and evaluation; advocacy, citizenship and rights; participatory processes in the North; governance and democracy; and critical reflections from practice. Several crosscutting themes also emerged, such as the evolution or participatory discourse; sharing learning and best practice between the South and the North; recognizing the political significance of participation, democratization and issues of power; scaling-up and institutionalizing participatory approaches; the continuing importance of critical reflection and participatory monitoring and evaluation; and the links between working at the local, national and international levels. After identifying these themes, the article goes on to briefly introduce and summarise each of the articles in this special issue. The article concludes with a hope that readers of PLA Notes continue to send in critical reflections and examples of innovations and best practices.
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The recent 'rise of rights' has sparked much critical reflection, one of the key concerns being 'What is different this time'?. Can this emerging focus on rights within development help bring about favourable changes for poor and marginalised people?
This issue of the IDS Bulletin addresses diverse perspectives and questions across a spectrum of current thinking, policy and practice. Why the rights-based approach and why now? Whose rights count? 'Rights' work has evolved from an historical focus on human rights violations and concern for legal protection, but its future depends on direct engagement with civil society causes.
Development needs rights as much as rights need development. Illustrated here are struggles for rights within specific contexts (tenants associations in Kenya; children's organisations in India): the perspective of marginalised groups alters how formal rights are given meaning. Using rights in practice is challenging and filled with contradictions and tensions. The struggle for rights is happening and it is not simply an agenda of the powerful.
What emerges from this IDS Bulletin is a vibrant picture of often diverse meanings and strategies pursued throughout the world. If the current enthusiasm for rights in development can open thinking spaces and result in appropriate action, rather than serving as a one-size-fits-all export, then rights bases approaches are to be welcomed. Moving beyond old debates and recognising that rights must be claimed and realised by real people, the development community can discover what rights will ultimately mean in context and practice.
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The article looks at the challenges and strategies of a partnership for health that was formed in 1998 in Saidpur and Parbatipur municipalities in Northern Bangladesh. Under the Child Survival Programme (CSP), a partnership was formed between Concern, 2 municipal authorities and 24 ward health committees. The overall goal of the CSP is to reduce maternal and child mortality and morbidity, and increase child survival by developing a sustainable municipal health service. The article looks at issues of partnership, and how a meaningful partnership was a difficult achievement in this case and had to be reconstructed after initial failures. The authors describe processes used to assess the capacities of the partners, to design the programme, and the overall achievements of the CSP. The article concludes by outlining future challenges, lessons learnt and implications for building sustainable health-promoting partnerships in development.
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In 2013, a group of young Karimojong set out to explore land, peace and customary law in Karamoja. This book presents their finding on how decisions are made internally between Karimojong and between Karimojong and government on these subjects.
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This report is about the Carnegie UK Trust’s youth programme - The Carnegie Young People Initiative (CYPI) which ran between 1996 and 2007. Dedicated to promoting young people’s voices in decision-making, the Carnegie Foundation acted so as influence public policy and awareness, work collaboratively with multiple sectors, and to be a catalyst for change. Much of this report is concerned with the translation of policy commitments into sound practice on the ground. It charts the lessons learned as well as presenting ideas for further action targeted at government and others
