Preparing for a participatory assessment and planning process is crucial to the successful engagement of children and adults. The community organizer or lead agency planning the process should read these materials carefully in order to determine the appropriate use of the assessment tools, the context in which they will be used, who will participate, and how the information will be used for local planning and advocacy for children’s rights. The resources are helpful for orienting and training community facilitators in conducting the assessment process.
This activity introduces the idea of child friendly places and enables children, youth and adults to think about what this means for their own schools and communities. Through drama, walking tours, or a body mapping activity, participants share their personal knowledge and experiences in their school and community to help them identify and discuss issues they want to address in the assessment. This includes a detailed examination of the assessment items to determine their appropriateness for the local context, and allowing participants to add new items if necessary to ensure all children’s needs are taken into consideration.
- What are some issues children, youth and families face in our school or community?
- What are child friendly communities and schools and why are they important?
- How do you create child friendly places?
- How can the process of creating child friendly places impact the lives of children, youth and their families?