Sharing ideas about child participation

Children's participation in action at the workshop

As a child-centred organisation, we believe in involving children in the development process.

Plan's child-centred community development approach (CCCD) is about recognising children as valued members of society with something to contribute. We work with them, at a level that suits their age and ability, to identify and integrate the issues that affect their lives into the design of community programs.

We are always learning

We work with communities at the grass-roots level to facilitate the development of child-centred programs. We assist in the development of projects that will be sustainable and appropriate for each situation. We learn all the time, from each community and project we get involved in.

Which is why Plan staff from across the world met in India last November, to share ideas and experiences of implementing projects involving children's participation.

The workshop was an opportunity to take the agenda of children's participation that little bit forward, and involved the sharing of best practice from various Plan staff as well as other organisations with experience of working with children in India.

In true participatory style, young people joined the forum and expressed their views. A presentation by the young people of the 'Community Aid Sponsorship Program' (a partner of Plan India) strongly underlined the need for children's participation in programs as they shared their positive experiences on personal, community, and organisational levels.

Forums like this enable effective ideas and innovations that work well in one community to be shared and adapted to benefit many more throughout the world.