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Description
A large-scale UNICEF survey in Bulgaria, 2015, shows: 1) 96% of children have heard that they have the right to express their opinion; 2) 56% are confident that they can express it freely: 42% - at home, 24% - at school; 3) 38% believe that their opinion will be taken into account; 20% - at home and only 8% - at school; 4) Children in small settlements and institutions are the least informed. With this project, we set the following goal: To develop the capacity of the association to develop innovative solutions for educating children about their right to participate, to explore the effect of their application and to disseminate them through: 1) Development of educational tools for the right to participate; 2) Training of children to acquire knowledge and skills to defend this right; 3) Creating a supportive environment by professionals; 4) Impact assessment of the applied tools and approaches; 5) Events and publications in the media. The project fully contributes to the chosen specific goal, because all activities are directly related to the development and implementation of educational tools. Results and products: 1) 2 types of educational tools; 2) 900 children - trained or familiar with educational tools 3) 20 trained intermediaries to implement them; 4) 1 national conference with 50 participants; 5) 15 demonstration events, 10 publications, 2 press conferences Main target groups: 1) 20 teachers and representatives of public institutions at the local level related to child welfare, trained to apply the tools; 2) 50 representatives of public national and local institutions - with the potential to disseminate and implement the developed educational tools. Direct users: 300 children aged 12-16 from Haskovo region (including Roma children) - acquire knowledge and skills for practicing the right to participate. Indirect beneficiaries: 600 children - participants in events to promote the right to participate.
Summary of project results
The project addresses the need for a better understanding of children''s rights in Bulgaria and the need for innovative solutions for educating children about their right to express and defend their opinions on matters that affect them.
Focus groups with 40 children and 26 experts supported the analysis of perceptions and understandings of children''s participation rights and how to execute them. A Children''s Council consisting of 6 youth leaders supported the project team in the development of a Handbook on Children''s Rights and the board game "We Know Our Rights," which is especially designed to teach human rights in a fun, interesting, and interactive fashion. The game was distributed during 18 peer-to-peer training events. At seminars and conferences, the developed resources were presented to experts from the social and educational sectors, who gained knowledge and skills for teaching children about human rights.
As a result of the project, 950 children were introduced to their rights through the board game "We Know Our Rights," and a Handbook for Children''s Education was created. Through special training sessions, 389 children acquired knowledge and skills to express and defend their opinions on matters that affect them, while 34 representatives from educational and social institutions in the Haskovo region gained skills to utilize educational resources in their direct work with children.