IICRD

11/29/2022

is HERE! Please consider helping us reach our donation goal and further our mission. 🌏

The IICRD exists to help provide opportunities for children to lead, to play, to participate in the decisions that affect them most. These experiences build resilience in young people that they can thrive, play, in a healthy environment, free of violence and harm.

We hope you will consider making a donation to our campaign. Every little bit helps and we are so grateful for your support!

Follow the link here to check out our campaign! 👉 https://bit.ly/3X3TaLR

11/25/2022

We are just A FEW DAYS away from Giving Tuesday! 💞

GivingTuesday is a day for giving back and we're so proud to be a part of it!
Our organization exists to help provide opportunities for children to lead, to play, to participate in the decisions that affect them most. These experiences build resilience in young people that they can thrive, play, in a healthy environment, free of violence and harm. 🌏

is a great way for us to further our mission. We hope you'll consider making a donation to our campaign. Your donation will go a long way in helping us achieve our goals! Every little bit helps and we are so grateful for your support!

Check out our campaign here! 👉 https://bit.ly/3X3TaLR

11/18/2022

Article 31: Right to Rest, Leisure and Play ⚽

Each month, the IICRD will spotlight one of the UNCRC's 54 articles in order to raise awareness of the treaty, its development, and the efforts being made by the IICRD and its partner organizations to further its objectives.

This month, we’re spotlighting… Article 31! 🌎

🗒️ Article 31 says that children and young people have the right to rest, leisure, play and recreational activities appropriate to their age, as well as the right to participate in cultural and artistic life.

What is the IICRD doing about it? 🧐

Children’s Clubs may play an important role to support young people's own safety and wellbeing. They are prevalent across the international development and civil society sector, with particular emphasis in regions of Africa, but they also exist in different forms around the world. Clubs have been recognized for making significant contributions to enhancing children’s own, their peers’, and their communities’ safety.

The IICRD is collaborating with Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children to hone in case examples and learn from the lived-experiences of those who have participated in the Children’s Clubs. This research, conducted by Kathleen Manion, Laura Wright, and Vanessa Currie, explores how Children’s Clubs around the world can support child protection and child safeguarding.

👉 Learn more about research on children’s clubs here: http://bit.ly/3OgnVcm
👉 Learn more about Article 31 and the UNCRC: https://bit.ly/3hkS6m7

11/10/2022

This , we're proud to be participating in a global day of giving! We believe that is a great way to help Lead with Children and Transform our World. Please consider making a donation to our campaign. 🌎

👉 https://bit.ly/3X3TaLR

11/10/2022

Article 31: Right to Rest, Leisure and Play ⚽

Each month, the IICRD will spotlight one of the UNCRC's 54 articles in order to raise awareness of the treaty, its development, and the efforts being made by the IICRD and its partner organizations to further its objectives.

This month, we’re spotlighting… Article 31! 🌎

🗒️ Article 31 says that children and young people have the right to rest, leisure, play and recreational activities appropriate to their age, as well as the right to participate in cultural and artistic life.

What is the IICRD doing about it? 🧐

IICRD Associates Dr. Kathleen Manion, Elaina Mack, and Valeria Cortes are working on Child Thrive, a BC based program which draws on rights-based approaches to foster a sense of belonging amongst children, families, schools and communities. Thousands of children and educators have participated in Child Thrive’s innovative virtual programming, focused on creating environments for young people to meet, play and interact with a variety of people committed to their well-being.

👉 Learn more about Child Thrive: https://bit.ly/3WQBN0N
👉 Learn more about Article 31 and the UNCRC: https://bit.ly/3hkS6m7

11/03/2022

NEW PUBLICATION ALERT! 🚨

Laura Wright and Laura Lee, two Associates with the IICRD, have been published in a very special youth-themed issue of the Journal of Participatory Research Methods.

📚“Online Intergenerational Participatory Research: Ingredients for Meaningful Relationships and Participation” was written by Laura Wright, Laura Lee, Carolina Machado, Ojaswi Niyogi, Prathit Singh, Sophie Shields, and Kristen Hope. It discusses the movement, which aims to foster intergenerational partnerships between children, young people, and adult members of the child rights community to develop evidence-based advocacy to uphold children’s rights throughout the pandemic.

It touches on the importance of relationships, embracing the ‘inner child’, and fostering meaningful participation in the research process. It also includes key recommendations for researchers working in the fields of human and children’s rights.

Congratulations to all! 🎉

Read the full article 👉 https://bit.ly/3TZ6fnw

By Laura M. Lee, Laura H.V. Wright & 5 more. This article will introduce processes and reflections on meaningful engagement through discussion of an intergenerational research and advocacy collaboration between the initiative and the COVID 4P Log smartphone app.

10/27/2022

📢 We’re joining youth advocates from across Canada at -Canada’s Youth Activism Summit on Nov. 14 to hear about their ideas for the future on BIPOC rights, climate change, gender-based violence, and healthcare equity.

Register now!
https://bit.ly/youth-summit-2022

10/21/2022

Call for BC Survey Respondents! 🗣

The Youth Research Academy is surveying BC youth aged 18 to 20 who are either currently in government care (or an alternative to government care such as on a Youth Agreement) or have aged out within the past year.

➡️ The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete, and youth receive a $25 e-gift card for completing their first survey.
➡️ Youth who complete the survey have the option to complete further surveys about every six months after that and receive a $30 e-gift card for each additional time point completed.

The survey asks questions about the youth's background, health (including mental health and substance use), experiences in care, living situations, education, employment, money, goals, access to services and supports, strengths and needs, and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participation in the study is anonymous and confidential.

10/13/2022

📚 Book Recommendation: Finding the Language, by Adelyn Newman-Ting

Finding the Language is a story about two friends searching for the Kwak’wala language. By speaking to their elders, they learn how to say different words and save the environment. 🌎

Watch Adelyn Newman-Ting, Victoria-based child author focused on the right to language, read the first chapter of her book to Giggles, the Child Thrive puppet. 👉 https://bit.ly/3EBkb27

Want more? Read about Adelyn’s book here 👉 https://bit.ly/3ECH6Kq

Giggles meets the author of Finding the Language, a book that celebrates and honours the land, language, and culture.

09/30/2022

Today we honour the many survivors of Canada’s residential school system. We recognize the enduring intergenerational harm caused by centuries of colonial oppression and exploitation, and we vow to remember and to act.

The IICRD calls upon the Government of Canada to fully implement the 94 Calls of Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee of Canada.

We invite all of our Associates, partner organisations, supporters, and friends to consider how you, your family, and your circle of influence can make concrete, actionable contributions to truth and reconciliation.

The UNCRC, the TRC, the UNDRIP are all key pieces of global governance that are working in tandem to achieve these goals. They work within the context of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages which aims to mobilize stakeholders to work towards the preservation and promotion of Indigenous languages.

At the IICRD, we are looking to find ways to support Indigenous language revitalization efforts in a broader goal to support Indigenous children’s right to language and culture. 🧡

09/22/2022

Associate Spotlight Series: Introducing Talia Kaufman! ✨📣

We are thrilled to tell you all about Talia, an Associate with the IICRD with many years of experience in non-formal education, public health education and sport for development.

With the IICRD, Talia is currently working as a research advisor on a team of educators from Canada, Pakistan, Nepal, the UK and Afghanistan to develop an e-course to help school leaders set and reach goals for inclusion at their schools. Talia is also working with the Olympic Refugee Foundation and the Council of Europe.

🧐 What has been your favourite project with the IICRD?

Talia: “They’ve all been fun and challenging in different ways. I learned a lot working with Vanessa, Aflatoun International and UNICEF Thailand on an adolescent participation training curriculum.”

🌎 Outside of your role with the IICRD, how are you involved in the human rights sphere?

Talia: “I’m mainly active in the sport for development space. I am involved with a research group on LGBTQ and non-binary inclusion in sport for development; I’m a member of the Pushing Against Racism working group to keep racism out of skateboarding; I recently spoke on a panel hosted by the Japan Sport Council to launch their guidebook Bridging the Divide Between Policy and Practice in Sport for Development; I worked earlier this year on a project with Grassroot Soccer and their local Mozambican partner Girl Child Rights to develop a football-based curriculum on sexual health and gender based violence for adolescent girls.”

🎒In your opinion, what is the current greatest challenge to the advancement of human (including children’s) rights?

Talia: “As simple as it sounds, I would say that the major challenge overall is the lack of incentive for political leaders to put people before profits. There needs to be a moral shift.”

🐬 What do you like to do for fun?

Talia: “I like to surf (I am humbly learning), skateboard, go for bike rides, bake cookies, read, and spend time outside in nature.”

09/08/2022

PARTNER Research Spotlight! 🌟📢

Land(ing) Back: Recentering Indigenous Youth Voices in Climate Action & Reconciliation

Created based on the conversations and recommendations from the Land(ing) Back audio blogs collaboratively produced and released by 4Rs Youth Movement (4Rs) and Youth Climate Lab (YCL), Land(ing) Back, the document is “a call to pay attention to the voices and perspectives of Indigenous young people, to be inspired by their work in community and around transformative approaches to creating healthier and sustainable futures for us all.” (3)

The authors highlighted 4 challenges and 4 key recommendations.

🏋️‍♀️ Challenges:

➡️ Narrow definition of youth climate action, volunteering and green jobs, which largely excludes grassroots movement work and criminalizes Indigenous representation and worldviews.
➡️ Narrow definitions of reconciliation that prioritizes the education of settlers, limiting Indigenous-led solutions.
➡️ Lack of access for Indigenous youth to green jobs, and funding to support Indigenous youth-led climate action.
➡️ Tokenism of Indigenous youth in government, institutional, and non-profit spaces.

📚 Recommendations:

➡️Fund Indigeonous youth-led climate actions and organizations, and improve accessibility of federally-funded green jobs programs for Indigenous youth.
➡️ Offer paid days off or barrier-free accommodation for youth to pursue climate-related volunteer work.
➡️ Understand, value and invest in diverse and intersectional approaches in the climate sector.
➡️ Adopt and implement Bill C-226 and provide unanimous consent to transform climate decision-making spaces to include youth.

READ the full report below, and FOLLOW the work of the authors:

📝 : 4Rs Youth Movement, Youth Climate Lab (YCL), Riley Yesno, Katelynne Herchak, Jessica Bolduc, Dominique Souris, Sabrina Guzman Skotnitsky