Description
The goal of the project is to increase the participation of NGOs in policy-making, improving the quality of advocacy and enhancing the capacities of NGOs to become partners to the state and systemic changes. A working group will be created consisting of representatives of NGOs working in the area of child protection (6 meetings) and a network of experts on children's rights from the NGOs and public administration. Through 6 round tables and 20 individual consultations the experts will analyze the current situation and develop proposals for change. The outcomes will be presented at conferences and round tables. 6 NGOs will react on practical experience and children's needs. 15 state employees will exchange their knowledge and learn about children's needs. 150 policy makers will get stimuli for the improvement of legislation. The partners Naruc and Association of Crisis Centers will bring in the experience in the area of social and legal protection and advocacy of children's rights. Roma children represent about 30 % of the target group that will benefit from the project.
Summary of project results
In Slovakia, the child problems are often neglected, and the approach to handling them often contradicts the principle of the best interest of the child. The outcomes of the project will remain sustainable through having a higher-quality process of developing suggestions to deal with the problems of children as well as an improved quality of advocacy by NGOs in cooperation with the state administration authorities. The objective of the project was to increase the participation of NGOs in policy-making, improve the quality of advocacy and enhance the capacities of NGOs to become partners of the State in making systemic changes. The long-term outcome of the project is the webpage bezmodrin.sk as well as the alternative report summarising the state of the child protection in Slovakia. This report will serve the purpose of a basic document for addressing the State with questions regarding the actual situation in child protection in Slovakia as well as for requesting remedies and changes. The outcome of the project NGOs responded to actual experience and needs of children, state employees exchanged their knowledge and learnt about children's needs, and policy makers received stimuli for improvements in legislation. The planned outcome was fully met. Main outputs: 8 coordination meetings of the work group focusing on the child protection area; 17 experts included in the informal child-protection network; 12 round table conferences, 38 consultations and 10 outcomes of the child problems analysis; expert proposals regarding the child protection system: 1 conference/150 participants, 41 round table conferences, 3 participations in the meetings of the Committee for Children and Youth, 25 participations in meetings regarding changes in legislation (3 outcomes); 49 media outcomes Beneficiaries were involved mainly secondarily, via impacts of changes made in the child protection system.
Summary of bilateral results