THE LISTEN TO US ADVOCACY PROGRAM

THE 10 ADVOCACY PROJECTS ACTIVITIES,

OUTPUTS & OUTCOMESPROGRAM DOCUMENT II

© CrozzCom 2009Program design: Anna Wall, CrozzComText & layout: Lena Wall, CrozzCom

CrozzComC/Mayor 16, piso 1º08960 Sant Just DesvernSPAINTel: + 34 (93) 371 68 11E-mail: listentous@crozzcom.orgWeb site: http://www.crozzcom.orgProgram site: http://www.crozzcom.org/listentous/index.html

THE 10 ADVOCACY PROJECTS ACTIVITIES, OUTPUTS & OUTCOMES

PROGRAM DOCUMENT II

Listen to us Advocacy Program ProposalBased on the participatory action research project Home Alone carried out by CrozzCom between 2004 and 2007.

CONTENTMAKE A DIFFERENCE! 6-7

Project 1 ONLINE ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN 8

Project 2 DOCUMENTARY ANIMATION PROJECT 9-10

Project 3 THE LOCAL ADVOCACY GROUP FOR THE CHILDREN LEFT HOME ALONE 11

Project 4 IMAGES FROM THE CHILDREN LEFT HOME ALONE PHOTO EXHIBITION AND PHOTO BOOK 12

Project 5 THE CHILDREN’S BOOKLET 13

Project 6 A PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY CENSUS 14

Project 7 CREATION OF A CHILD -TO - CHILD SUPPORT GROUPS 15

Project 8 SPREAD THE WORD! DISSEMINATING RESEARCH FINDINGS 16

Project 9 A COMMUNITY MARCH FOR THE CHILDREN LEFT HOME ALONE 17

Project 10 CHILDREN’S MEDIA ADVOCACY 18

BECOME INVOLVED YOU TOO! 20-21

YES! - I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION ! 22-23

All over the world, children are left home alone as caretakers responsible for their siblings and for carrying out the domestic tasks while their parents are working. For many families, leaving their children home alone is a painful choice they feel forced to make everyday, since there is no other alternative for them

All over the world, children are left home alone as caretakers responsible for their siblings and for carrying out various domestic tasks in their homes while their parents are working.

For many families, leaving their children home alone is a painful choice they feel forced to make everyday, since there is no other alternative for them.

Through the participatory action research project Home Alone we learnt that these children live in very vulnerable situation of risk of hunger, neglect and abandonment. Many of the children revealed that they often feel very lonely, frightened, isolated and sad. We also discovered that many of these children suffer from abuses in the family, resulting in feelings of abandonment, depression, low self-esteem and anger.

Yet, these children do not receive the attention or the support they are entitled to. The existing programs, policies and activities aimed for other children without parental care often overlook the children left home alone, keeping these children out of reach for help.

There are many possibilities for improving the situation of the children left home alone, especially through advocacy, but that alone is not enough.

To achieve a protective environment and lasting change for these children, the involvement of both local and international child rights organizations, government officials, and people close to the children, such as parents, community leaders is necessary.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

All over the world, children are left home alone as caretakers responsible for their siblings and for carrying out the domestic tasks while their parents are working. For many families, leaving their children home alone is a painful choice they feel forced to make everyday, since there is no other alternative for them

Improving the lives of the children left home alone depends heavily on changes in attitudes and behavior in the family, which means the need to make parents and other adults in the community aware of the risks for the children´s well-being, safety and development of being left home alone. The children themselves can also do a lot to improve the situation. Our research shows that children left home alone can be helped more immediately with modest levels of support, such as receiving visits from other children.

What is the Listen to Us advocacy program?

Thanks to the results and experiences from the previous participatory research project Home Alone, we have been able to design a child-centered advocacy program that uses a multi approach of advocacy, awareness raising, direct interventions and research to support changes in different areas identified causing the failure of protecting the children left home alone.

Through the program, the participating children will work with others to bring about changes, not only to policies, but also to services, attitudes and practices. All 10 projects within the Listen to Us program are based on the needs and suggestions expressed by children themselves and inwhich the children are involved in every activity.

Responding to these children’s claims on a protective environment is a duty of all and essential to ensure these children’s rights to development and well being as well as to prevent the harm exposed to them from continuing.

Make a difference! Become involved in the Listen to Us advocacy program!

As part of the advocacy program, CrozzCom will design and run an online advocacy campaign that aims to gather and exchange information, raise awareness and engage people to take actions for the children left home alone.

We will take full potential of Internet, multimedia, and social media to mobilize members and supporters and keep them engaged.

By attracting expert commentary and analysis, we hope to extend the influence and add credibility to the issue and, at the same time build a strong supporter and knowledge base, which will provide pressure on key decisions makers.

Turning visitors to activists

After becoming a member, people will be able to:

• Present research and other projects and programs about the children left home alone;

• Listen and watch well produced audio and video clips;

• Post comments, download and upload files;

• Subscribe to RSS feeds for the multimedia, as well as the Blog entries;

• Take actions online, such as signing a petition or forwarding messages to friend;

• Become an active ambassador for the children left home alone;

• Make donations.

ONLINE ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN AND COMMUNITY BUILDING There are hundreds of children that are left home alone while their parents are working. Despite this, people know very little about this group of children.

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“The children in jeopardy” is a documentary animation project that aims to increase the understanding and awareness about the reality and the consequences of the practice of leaving children home alone.

We will produce 10 animations that each illustrates different situations that these children often face.

Many of the animations are nonverbal, in order to get the messages across to everyone, regardless of language, age or culture.

Some of the animations are based on segments from the interviews that CrozzCom did with children

during the research project Home Alone. Still other are scenarios, illustrated with animation.

Why documentary animation?

Animation is considered as a “friendly” genre that both adults and children like.

We believe that the animations will reach an audience that might would not watch the interviews in its original format. We also believe that it is easier to incorporate sensitive subjects in an animated documentary while protecting the identity of the child.

DOCUMENTARY ANIMATION PROJECT THE CHILDREN IN JEOPARDYOnly by truly listening to the children can we appreciate the realities of being a child left home alone and what can be done to help.

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The use of the animations

On grass-root level, the Advocacy group of the children left home alone (project 3) will organise video screenings of the animations, to which identified stakeholders will be invited.

We will also organise an open community screening in connection with the community march (project 9) at the end of the program.

The idea of the community screenings is to open spaces for dialogues, ideas for solutions, and for arousing critical reflection on the parent-child interactions. The ultimate goal is to influence parents and other adults around the children to change their attitude and behaviour towards these children.

Global use

The animations will also be distributed to filmfestivals, researchers, broadcasters, journalists, and communication directors at child rights organisations with the aim to get the children’s messages across to a maximum number of people.

Facilitators guide

To maximise the use and effectiveness of the animations, an accompanying facilitators guide will be developed and produced.

In collaboration with volunteering children and community leaders, we will invite representatives from local child rights organisations, children and adults from neighbouring communities to workshops on advocacy.

The objective is to identify partners and to form an advocacy group that will be responsible for raising awareness and making pressure on those with power to take actions for increased support to the children left home alone.

The group will also be responsible for developing a long-term plan for building a supportive environment for the children left home alone in Nicaragua.

Among already proposed actions that the advocacy group will discuss are the following:

- Creation of community committees for the children left home alone in León with a first-pilot committee in Los Poetas.

- To explore child-friendly procedures for reporting on child protection issues.

The advocacy group will also be involved in the other project activities of the Listen to us program, such as organising the community march, the community screenings, inviting representatives from the Ministry of family and other stakeholders to the different activities of the Listen To Us, pitching-local journalists, distributing materials to local child rights organisations, holding community photo exhibition among others activities.

THE LOCAL ADVOCACY GROUP FOR THE CHILDREN LEFT HOME ALONE CAPACITY AND ALLIANCE BUILDINGIdentifying partners for advocacy!

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The aim is to make people aware of the lives and issues affecting the children left home alone and to spur a critical reflection about this practice.

The photo exhibition will travel from community to community in Nicaragua. We will also produce an online exhibition on the program’s Web site.

A photo book will also be produced including the same photographs.

The photo book will distributed to community houses, schools and health centres, available for

people living in the community.

Together with other publications emerged from the Listen To Us program, we will also distribute the photo book to offices of the Nicaraguan Ministry of Family and to national child rights organisations.

The photo book will also be available to view online at the program’s Web site.

IMAGES FROM THE CHILDREN LEFT HOME ALONE A PHOTO EXHIBITION AND PHOTO BOOK34 child photographers from the previous research project Home Alone, will show their photographs to the world through photo exhibitions and a photo book.

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One of the objectives of this project is to strengthen the capacity of the children to raise awareness, to promote behavioural and attitudinal changes.

After an advocacy workshop, the children will carry out their own child-to-child consultation in the community Los Poetas. At a second workshop, the children will analyse and categorise the information according to their own ideas about what people around them can do to improve the situation.

The design and style of the Booklet

Through 10 cartoon-stories told by fictive children, the reader gets to know the reality of the children left

home alone in an easy understood and appealing way.

Each fictive character tell his or her mayor problem of being a child left home alone and what changes are needed to better protect and care for these children.

The stories will be accompanied with relevant paragraphs of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The booklet will be distributed throughout communities in Nicaragua and to national and international child rights organisations.

It will also be published on different web sites and forums on child rights issues.

As child field workers, the participants will consult around 100 other children to collect information for the production of a children’s booklet: “10 Ideas on how you can make a difference!”

THE CHILDREN’S BOOKLET: 10 IDEAS ON HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

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Together with children and community leaders, we will make random household visits in the five community areas in Los Poetas, León, Nicaragua.

How?

We will select five streets in each area from among the total streets, then 5 households per street will be selected.

Each of these 125 households will be visited and we will ask the following question:

Does this household contain children that are left home alone?

From this, the number as a whole can be estimated.

The objective is to gather quantitative data that will be presented to responsible institutions and local politicians.

HOW MANY CHILDREN ARE WE? A PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY CENSUSTo obtain an overview of the magnitude of the practice of leaving children left home alone as sibling caretakers, we will carry out a participatory community census.

Maria 11 years: I wonder how many children there are like me, -that also are left home alone...?

Amelia community leader, 36 years: I have to admit, we don’t know exactly how many you are, but we know that there are many children like you and everyday we see more children alone with their siblings.

Max local researcher, 42 years: We ought to know more exactly if our campaign is to be effective.

Amelia: It’s the children’s situation that matters, not the statistics.

Max: But, if people realised how many there are, they’d pay more attention.

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Our previous research shows that the

home alone children can be helped

more immediately with modest levels

of support, such as receiving visits

from other children.

“Easing the burden” is a pilot-project

that aims to develop a model for a

child-to-child support group.

The project is based on the children´s

own idea for actions, which can ease

the strong feelings of loneliness,

isolation and exclusion that many of

these children suffer.

The first step of the project is to recruit

volunteers through school visits,

cluster samplings and volunteer lists,

followed by a workshop where both

children and adults will develop and

plan support activities.

Why a support group?

Just knowing that there are other children living in similar situation can make a big difference in a child’s life. The child-to-child supporters will act as lights of joy, raising spirits and provide much-needed encouragement for the children they visit.

Having someone who cares and listens and gives support will indeed ease the burden for these children.

The initiative will probably also contribute to children’s ability to protect themselves and demand their rights for support, protection and care.

After an evaluation of the pilot project, a program proposal will be written and submitted to local municipalities and donors in order to obtain support for its implementation.

EASING THE BURDEN CREATION OF A CHILD -TO -CHILD SUPPORT GROUP MODEL“I have butterflies in my stomach.” Girl, 12 years.

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The situation of the children left home alone is a neglected area of child protection among international organisations, researchers, child rights practitioners and in child welfare policies.

The existing programs, policies and activities aimed for other children without parental care often overlook the children left home alone, keeping them out of reach for help.

“The spread the word” project is a dissemination and outreach campaign that aims to increase the knowledge and commitment for this child group.

Through a wide range of formats adapted to each target audience we will get the research findings and the children’s messages across to researchers , representatives from child rights organizations and experts.

These are people who can raise the profile of the issue, give visibility to this group of children and advocate for their rights to a protective environment.

One step toward that goal is the recognition of the children left home alone as children without adequate parental care and their inclusion in programs and policies.

SPREAD THE WORD! DISSEMINATING RESEARCHFINDINGS “The children left home alone are like other groups of children without parental care deprived of their first line of protection – their parents.”

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The overall goal is to mobilise community support and commitment for the children left home alone.

Before the march, the children will participate in creative workshops where they will develop messages and create material for the march.

They will also decide who they want to invite to the march and how to announce it. A children’s spoke person will also be elected.

Another group of children will invite local journalists to participate and report on the march.

During the march a special group of children and adults will collect names for the list: “Children left home alone have the right to protection!”

Lists will be posted in all community houses in León for people to sign. Another list will be published on the project’s web site where people elsewhere can show their concern.

As a final step, we will hand over the lists to the community leaders who will use it as advocacy tools in forthcoming meetings and workshops on the issue.

A COMMUNITY MARCH FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILDREN LEFT HOME ALONEEquipped with designed Listen To Us T-shirts, banderoles, streamers, pamphlets and slogans, children and adults will march through the community Los Poetas, street by street mobilising support for the children left home alone.

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We will invite targeted local journalists to participate in all relevant activities of the Listen to us advocacy program.

The idea is to make them interested and engaged in the issue, so that they will write about it in the local newspapers and report about it in local and national television broadcasting networks.

We will provide the journalists with stories, pictures and visuals that show the reality of the children left home alone.

The ultimate goal is to make governmental officials and child rights organisations aware of the problems and the risks that these

children are exposed to every day.

The children’s letter action

A children’s letter will be sent to identified media outlets and child rights organisations.

The contact information to those people in the Nicaraguan government responsible for child protection will be tracked down and included in the letter, so people can contact them pressuring them to act.

The letter will also be uploaded on the project’s web sites so people elsewhere can join the action.

CHILDREN’S MEDIA ADVOCACY A SMALL SCALE CAMPAIGN

By working with local journalists we will get the children’s messages across to a wider audience and indirectly to representatives of the local municipalities.

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“Responding to home alone children’s claims on a protective environment is a duty of all and

essential to ensure these children’s rights to development and well

being as well as to prevent the harm exposed to them from continuing.”

BECOME INVOLVED YOU TOO!CrozzCom is looking for partners for the Listen to Us advocacy program. Together we can make a difference!

There is something to do for everyone.

Step 1. Read through the options in the table on the left.

Step 2. Please, check the option/s of your interest and fill out the rest of the form.

Step 3. Click on submit when you are done. If you make any misstake you can always clear the form by clicking reset.

Step 4. Your email program will open and you can send the form directly to CrozzCom.

Step 5. Once we receive your form we will contact you and we can initiate the collaboration!

We are very much looking forward working together!

First name: Last name:

E-mail: Phone:

Name of your company/organisation:

As an individual you can become an ambassador with the mission to inform people close to you about the situation of the children left home alone. For example, you will encourage your family, friends and collegues to become activists and donators of the Listen to Us program through the advocacy online campaign.

As a child-rights organisation you can actively participate in the program’s projects and activities. Another main task would be to advocate for the children left home alone and promote Listen to Us within your own organisation. Invite CrozzCom to your conferences or workshops on children’s rights and in particular when the group “children without parental care” is on the agenda.

Foundations can make a huge difference by giving the program financial support. We have the organisational structure in place and proven experience of handling long-term funding and relationships. Individual activities and projects can also be funded seperately.

Volunteering is of central importance for CrozzCom. We have a growing network of volunteers that help us with a variety of activities. Please, take a look at volunteer to learn more about what type of volunteering you can do.

Another idea? We strongly welcome feedback and if you have another idea on how you would like to participate in the Listen to us, please, don’t hesitate and let us know!

Message:

YES! I WANT COLLABORATE!

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By giving Listen to Us! a donation you will effectively contribute to the important work to advocate for the fulfillment of the rights of the children left home alone. If you want you can choose which project/s of the program that you want to support. Here you can view all the 10 projects.

Step 1.Please, fill out the form on the right and click on submit when you are done. If you make any misstake you can always clear the form by clicking reset.

Step 2.Your email program will open and you can send the form directly to CrozzCom.

Step 3.You are welcome to make your donation through a banktransfer to our account at the bank La Caixa with IBAN ES0321000148520200632747 or, contact us and we will arrange it in person.

Step 4.Once we receive your donation you will get a letter from us where we confirm the transaction.

We are very grateful for your help! We promise to use your money very carefully and efficiently!

First name: Last name:

E-mail: Phone:

Name of your company/organisation:

Project 1: Online Advocacy campaign and Community Building. €

Project 2: Documentary Animation Project: The Children in Jeopardy. €

Project 3: Local Advocacy group for the children left home alone. €

Project 4: Images from the Children left home alone: A photo exhibition and photo book. €

Project 5: Children’s Booklet: 10 ideas on how you can make a difference! €

Project 6: How many children are we? A particpatory community census. €

Project 7: Easing the burden: Creationof child-to-child support groups. €

Project 8: Spread the word! Disseminating research findings. €

Project 9: A Community march for the rights of the children left home alone. €

Project 10: Children’s media advocacy - a small scale campaign. €

l let CrozzCom decide how to best use my donation. €

Message: Total:reset

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YES! - I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION!

CrozzCom - Children’s participation in action C/Mayor 16, piso 1º08960 Sant Just DesvernBarcelona, SPAINPhone: + 34 (93) 371 68 11E-mail: listentous@crozzcom.org,info@crozzcom.org

Web site: http://www.crozzcom.orgProgram site: http://www.crozzcom.org/listentousProgram Document I: The children left Home Alone claim their rights to a protective environmentProgram Document II:The 10 Advocacy projects - activities, outputs & outcomes.

CROZZCOM