Child-Led Organizations and the Advocacy of Adults: Experiences from Bangladesh and Nicaragua-Liebel, Manfred
In: Michael Freeman (Ed.): Law and Childhood Studies: Current Legal IssuesVolume 14
Sixteen years ago, the author of this book was invited to a Children's Rights Congress in Frankfurt am Mainto to speak about his experience with ‘new forms of interest articulation and participation of children in Latin America’. In particular, this covered initiatives and social movements that are run by children themselves and which seek to improve their precarious situation ‘with their own force’. For seven years, he had the opportunity to witness such processes, and to accompany children on-site as an adult ‘co-worker’. In this chapter the author recounts what he learnt during that time, and reflects on it in light of subsequent experiences, and in reference to experiences in other regions of the world. In doing so, he hopes to understand better and to provide a better understanding of what the child-led organizations mean for the enjoyment of children's rights and in what ways they can contribute to attaining an understanding of participation suitable to the life situation of the children. In the process, it is indispensable to understand the pitfalls of and perspectives on ‘advocacy’ and organizations of adults, which children rely on, and which (want to) help and support children.
