AMWCY 30th anniversary – Children’s Forum 2024
Introduction
1994 -2024, that’s 30 years of existence, battles, actions, but also challenges andachievements that the AMWCY celebrated in the form of a children’sforum at the headquarters of the African Union, in Addis Ababa. Here aresome of the highlights of this event!
MAEJT: 30 years ofthe Movement celebrated in the form of a forum at the headquarters ofthe AU
Family photo of the opening ceremony
The children’s forum was held on the theme of “The Resilience ofChildren and Youth Groups in a Multi-Crisis Context” to markthe celebration of the 30th anniversary of the MAEJT from October 28th,to November 2nd, 2024, at the headquarters of the AfricanUnion in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Thishistoric event was attended by AU authorities, financial and technicalpartners of the MAEJT, friends and supporters and 103 participantsfrom 28 countries, including 25 country members of the MAEJT: Benin,Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire,Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau,Kenya, Liberia, Niger, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo,Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Inaddition to these countries, there were delegations from two countries underobservation: Morocco and Tunisia, and a guest from another country.
Thisforum for dialogue and sharing experiences highlighted the cultural andlinguistic diversity of the member countries of the MAEJT.
The forum featured a number of activities, including a retelling of the history of the MAEJTand its activities, as well as animation, slams, budding genius competitions, initiation to drawing techniques, panel discussions on themes highlighting the difficulties children and youth are facing in Africa, etc.
These themes include: child participation, localisation, climate change,armed conflicts, economic inflation, migration policies, etc.
Child participation
Children participating in the forum
Accordingto the panellists, synergy between the children themselves, the parents(who often do not allow their children to participate), the authorities,community leaders, etc. is necessary for children to participate effectively inthe processes/decisions that concernthem. Children’s participation remains limited and symbolic,despite the efforts of the MAEJT and other actors.
Theselimitations are due to a lack of awareness of children’s rights toparticipate, harmful cultural practices, etc.
In orderto make children’s participation a reality, the followingrecommendations were made:
– Training and information on the importance of children’s rights.
– Gather testimonials: Use videos and audio to illustrate the benefits.
– Clarify the issues: clearly explain the issues and the benefitsof children’s participation.
– Set up mechanisms to monitor and share progress.
Location
Participants in the forum
Localisation is defined as a technique for identifying communities. With this in mind, the children taking part in the forum invited the members of the MAEJT to go out into the field to see what the children are experiencing. According to them, “the MAEJT is the eyes, mouth and feet of the communities, guiding them towards the authorities and concrete results”. To be more precise, one of them said: “Our role in localisation is to get communities to be seen, to publicise their achievements through the media, to highlight their own identity”.
The effects of climate change on children.
Children and Climate Change
Climate change is a phenomenon that affects the whole world, particularly children, who are the most exposed to the risks of malnutrition, dropping out of school, lack of access to drinking water and consequent water-borne diseases, etc. It emerged from the panellists’ discussions on this theme that human being is the main cause of global warming through his actions on the ecosystem, i.e. bush fires, deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions through the use of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal, etc.). To counter this phenomenon, they spoke about the urgent need for people to change their behaviour in order to reduce the harmful effects of global warming. They recommended reforestation, not cutting down trees indiscriminately, creating the conditions for adaptation, etc.
Armed conflicts and their impact on children's lives
Children affected by conflicts
Armed conflicts are often caused by divisions, tensions and the breakdown of the rule of law, leading to the recruitment of children into armed groups, with the immediate consequence of traumatizing these children. These children are blackmailed by the protagonists and end up joining armed groups or are simply forcibly recruited into armed groups. To counter these situations, the panellists spoke of the urgent need to avoid as far as possible all the factors that lead to the recruitment of children into armed groups. Hence the need to raise families’ awareness so that they accept their children, listen to them and monitor them. In short, we need to respect children’s rights, develop a culture of tolerance, conduct preventive negotiations, and raise awareness among children, families and the general public.
The effects of the cost of living and economic inflation on the lives of children and youth
Harsh living conditions of children
Rising prices for basic necessities are having a negative impact on children’s lives. It forces many children to develop survival strategies by entering the labour market to support themselves. Economic inflation exacerbates the already precarious living conditions of families, with all its consequences for children: forced marriages, domestic violence, forced and unprepared mobility,… This is an obstacle to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The authorities, decision-makers and partners are being called upon to address the issues of child care and protection, as well as the implementation of development policies.
