Young, but capable: youth lead the struggle against violence in Mali (PLA 64)
In Africa, and particularly in Mali, children are exposed to many forms of violence: physical, emotional and spiritual. This article examines how members of the children’s parliament in Mali are advocating for better child protection as part of a regional project by Plan Mali in partnership with Save the Children. The main objective was to strengthen the capacity of child and youth organisations to tackle violence by disseminating information, raising awareness and advocating for change with duty bearers. The children’s parliament is a platform for youth participation and freedom of expression. Its role is to support the Malian government to implement national policies or initiatives which promote and uphold children’s rights. The article describes the strategies, successes and challenges in building the capacity of children and young people to campaign for their own protection and enabling them to share their experiences of tackling violence.
Participatory Learning and Action (PLA, formerly PLA Notes) is the world's leading series on participatory approaches and methods. PLA publishes articles on participation aimed at practitioners, researchers, academics and activists. All articles are peer-reviewed by an international editorial board. See: www.planotes.org
Keywords: Children, youth, young people, child rights, participatory governance.
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Available at https://www.iied.org/g03200