We are thrilled to introduce the Harare children’s Call to Action, a powerful initiative launched by the African Regional Child Advisory Committee, a group of eighteen children from Africa and the Middle East. They came together in Harare, Zimbabwe, to discuss the issues affecting working children in their region. Through constructive discussions, they identified poverty and climate change as the top priorities needing urgent attention from their regional body, the African Union. The Call to Action is not just words on paper; it’s a commitment to making real change. The African Regional Child Advisory Committee urges leaders to listen, respond, and act urgently.

Recently, Dialogue Works’ Child Advisory Committee (CAC) members from Bangladesh and Nepal attended a virtual meeting with children’s rights experts to talk about their experienes as working children in the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL). Examples of those forms of child labour are the leather sector and the Adult Entertainment Sector (AES). The meeting between working children and children’s rights experts builds on conclusions from prior discussions, which recognised the need to consider how children’s experiences of the WFCL impact relevant policy. The meeting was a unique opportunity to hear children working in WFCL as experts by experience to gain a deeper understanding of working children’s experiences and assist in strengthening the childen’s rights experts responses and recommendations on child labour. Watch the video below to hear what our CAC members have shared in the meeting.

Children’s Advisory Committee coordinators from 7 countries came together in Istanbul for a week to share their experiences during a workshop and reflect on how to continue the great work we have done so far. The main topics of the discussions were, for example: – Embedding participation. and children’s committees: What opportunities are there to sustainably integrate children’s participation into internal and external structures and processes?– Social accountability: How can we make decision-makers or other service providers more accountable so that they implement the commitments they have made?– Global network planning: Building bridges around the world! How can we continue our work as a network beyond the project duration after 2024 and continue to work towards common goals? We had the support of child rights advisors Claire O’Kane and Ornella Barros. Due to travel restrictions, the other Dialogue Works colleagues took part in the workshop hybrid – which was also a new and interesting challenge for us. Overall, the global exchange was enriching and helpful for the future work of Dialogue Works and beyond.