Project Name: Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia-CLARISSA”
Project Introduction: Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia-CLARISSA” programme is Led by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex University, UK; and is being implemented by a global consortium which also includes: Terre des homes; Child Hope and Consortium for Street Children. CLARSSA is working in Bangladesh and Nepal for co-developing innovative and context-appropriate ways to increase options for children to avoid engagement in hazardous, exploitative labour and is designed to generate innovation from the ground, which can sustainably improve the lives of children and their families.
Overall Objective: Within the CLARISSA programme, DAM aims to amplify the voices of children in Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) through creating an advocacy group and utilize the evidence generated and interventions piloted through the programme to promote change at the legislative / policy level at local, national, regional and international levels.
Specific Objectives:
- To influence key governmental and non-governmental stakeholders involved in addressing child labour in Bangladesh to adapt laws, policies and programmes utilising the evidence generated through CLARISSA Bangladesh programme.
- To empower children working in the WFCL in Bangladesh to understand their rights and to build their capacity to develop and communicate their own views and ideas, and to participate at all levels of decision-making.
- To raise awareness of the evidence emerging from the Social Protection intervention to persuade key social protection stakeholders and government institutions to learn from these approaches and develop and adapt programmes and policies that incorporates this evidence.
- To bring attention to the situation of children working in the leather supply chain in Bangladesh and in collaboration with like-minded organizations influence key stakeholders to take action based on the evidence emerging from CLARISSA Bangladesh programme.
Major areas of CLARISSA Bangladesh Advocacy Intervention are:
» Sharing evidence and learning for influencing
Sharing evidence and learning on issues, methodologies and pilot interventions that emerge from CLARISSA Bangladesh programmatic and research work, especially on the leather supply chain and social protection, through for instance:
- Bi-annual roundtable meetings with key government and non-governmental stakeholders
- Strategically planned one-to-one lobby meetings with key stakeholders
- Engage in government-led meetings/initiatives when opportunities arise
- Bi-annual community sensitisation meetings in communities reached through CLARISSA
- One multi-media campaign
- Regular development and publication of communications materials (e.g. flyers, leaflets, blogs, social media, etc) as evidence emerges
- Contribute to regional/international advocacy efforts and campaigns
» Building Coalitions
Strengthen alliances and a strengthened base of support to build political and public will to drive policy change
- Establishing the Multi-Stakeholder Action Group (and/or Advocacy Reference Group)
- Mobilise like-minded / willing stakeholders around the issue of WFCL in Bangladesh (in particular leather supply chain) to find common ground, exchange evidence and learning, and develop a joint plan of action for advocacy/influencing.
- Identify individuals in government with same core beliefs and work with them as allies/champions
- Engage journalists and broadcasters as strategic partners and build their capacity to report on evidence emerging from CLARISSA in an ethical, meaningful way.
» Building capacity of children in WFCL to participate
Increased power of those affected, strengthened base of support, solutions informed by those most affected
- Three areas of engagement with children: Children’s advocacy group-CAG (as part of wider Children’s research and advocacy group), supporting children’s PAR groups where relevant, engagement with existing children’s coalitions.
- Children Advocacy Group: support the group in doing their own advocacy and participate in the programme advocacy; strong capacity-building component; need for strong integration with research components.
- Participatory Action Research (PAR): Support children’s PAR groups where advocacy / influencing is key to what they want to do, e.g. through skill-building or connecting them with the stakeholders they want to reach.
- Children’s coalitions: strengthen representation of children in WFCL and their issues in existing children’s coalitions, e.g. NCTF, Children’s Parliament
Anticipated Outcomes:
- Children in WFCL will have increased knowledge to improve their lives.
- Created opportunities for children in WFCL for participating in local-national policy/decision making process.
- Parents, guardians and community people listen to children on labour matters and take their ideas, voice and needs seriously.
- Policy makers and decision makers take into account the evidences and recommendations generated through CLARISSA Programme.
- Like minded NGO-INGOs are agreed to have joint advocacy/ actions on WFCL
- Increased publications on WFCL in media.
- Supply Chain Stakeholders/ employers address the problems of children in WFCL in lather supply
Beneficiaries:
The primary beneficiaries are children in the worst forms of child labour and those who are vulnerable to being drawn into it. The families of these children will benefit from greater resilience to shocks, better options for their children’s safe and healthy future and less intra-family stress and conflict. Businesses will benefit from practical solutions to child-labor free supply chains. Policy makers, NGOs, and researchers will benefit from knowledge of what works. By taking a participatory, adaptive and child-centered approach to evidence and innovation generation, and using.
Project Duration: July 2020 – March 2024
Financial partner (Donor): FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK) Through CSC (Consortium for street children).
Implementing partner (if any): N/A
Project Location (District & Upazila): Dhaka
Number of Field offices: 1
Project Budget (Total) : (£) 161,735.43
Number of project staff(s) : 01.
Contact Person: Ms. Azmi Akter, Advocacy and Communication Expert
