Global Perspectives on Social Policy: Faith & Politics, Human Rights, UNCRC and Global Youth work Lecture 3 Tuesday 26 th May

RECAP on previous session

Parable of the Good Samaritan

Faith and Politics Hillary Clinton, recently said “Rights have to exist in practice, not just on paper. Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.”

Hydebank Young Offenders Centre, aged 16 “Politicians don’t know why we get into trouble, they just know that we do. You need to listen to young people. I've a lot of experience of violence, domestic violence, fighting…I grew up seeing it. If you have a language spoke to you all the time when you're young, that’s the language you learn to speak – it’s like that, you see violence around you and you learn it, that’s how you live your life.”

Election Day Activity Read the manifestos

Cast your Vote Write the name of the party you are going to vote for and why your going to vote? Or alternatively, tell us why you are not going to vote.

An introduction to children’s rights

agenda What are human rights? Why children’s rights? The UNCRC Children’s rights for youth workers Reflection and evaluation

Core Principles of Human Rights Universal Inalienable Indivisible Accountable

FREDA principles Fairness and freedom Respect Equality Dignity Autonomy

Why do children need separate rights? Maturity Voiceless and invisible Possessions

Wants, Needs and Rights Want - a desire for something Need - the state of requiring help, or of lacking basic necessities such as food Right - a moral or legal entitlement to have or do something

The 4 Components of a Right 1.The Rights Holder (a human being ) 2.The Object (the thing they have a right to) 3.The Obligated (people or institutions - “duty bearers”) 4.The Justification (greater human dignity, societal development, a peaceful society)

Body of Rights

The UNCRC 54 articles 41 substantive articles 3 domains

4 underpinning rights Article 2 - No discrimination Article 3 - Best interests of the child Article 6 - Right to life Article 12 - Right to be heard

National Children and Young People’s Participation Standards 1. Information- which is easy for children and young people to understand 2. It’s Your Choice – enough information and time to make an informed choice 3. No Discrimination - every young person has the same chance to participate. 4. Respect- Your opinion will be taken seriously 5. You get something out of it- You will enjoy the experience 6. Feedback- You will find out what difference your opinion has made 7. Improving how we work- Adults will ask you how they can improve how they work for the future

Implementing the right to education - an example GovernmentHas an obligation to find & allocate resources, define policy, achieve progress against targets Education institutions Have an obligation to train teachers, organise resources, create a child friendly environment TeachersHave an obligation to teach well, to encourage parents, to support all children ParentsShould support their children’s learning Children and young people Should respect other children in order to support their peers to exercise their rights

The reporting process Every 5 years Reports to the UN: – UK Government (inc section by NIA) – NGO report – Young peoples report – Children’s Commisioners’ report (4 nations) Concluding observations NIA action plan Monitoring group

UN Concluding Observations 2008 most relevant to youth workers NIA/UK government must 1.Make sure that the rights in the UNCRC are known and understood by adults and children 2.There must be training on the UNCRC for all adults working with children 3.Do more to raise awareness about and prevent discrimination against children 4.Ensure respect for children’s views in the family, school, communities and institutions 5.Support organisations that supprt children to get involved in decision- making 6.Make sure adults working with children know about their duty to report and act on suspected cases of domestic violence affecting children 7.Provide better sex and relationship services and education to teenagers 8.Do more to make sure all children can enjoy their right to rest and play

Articles most relevant to youth workers 1 Article 2 – all rights apply to all children without discrimination Article 3 – best interests of the child Article 12 – right to be heard Article 13 – right to express an opinion Article 14 – governments should respect children’s rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion Article 15 – right to freedom of association Article 16 – right to privacy

Articles most relevant to youth workers 2 Article 17 – access to appropriate information Article 19 – protection from abuse and neglect Article 26 – right to benefit from social security Article 29 – education shall aim at developing the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to the fullest extent Article 31 – right to play Article 33 – protection from illegal drugs including appropriate education

Think of a child …

Putting learning into practice

Coffee break

What is Global Youth Work?

Why Global Youth Work? - We live in a multicultural global society where issues are increasingly complex - Young people need to explore their values and develop their skills in a safe place - Young people want to know more about global issues -P-Part of the holistic approach to working with YP

Why global youth work? - YP are interested in these issues and want to engage with them. 24 hour news/technology constantly bombarding us with information. - Youth workers have a responsibility to open up a range of issues to young people and not to shy away from them people have drowned trying to enter Europe in 4 months. 14 people every day. - Why not ? enjoy the experience, shared learning, willingness to see where it leads, instilling the concept of social justice in all our YP. - Universalism – our lifestyle here directly impacting other around the world. E.g. bananas, tea, oil, chocolate.

Why global youth work? Global Youth Work Testing Values and Beliefs Participation EDI – Equity, Diversity, Independence Acceptance and Understanding of Others

Barriers to Global Youth work 1.What do I do if young people ask me something about international events or issues and I don’t know the answer? 2.We have too much to do already so how can we fit global youth work in as well? 3.Can global youth work take place in any youth work setting? 4.Will we need to develop whole sets of new skills to do global youth work?

Local Barriers to GYW - Local Government – unhelpful language around diversity from Politicians. Overseas aid not devolved. lack of Political will to look at Global issues. - Testing values and beliefs – we know where we stand around drugs and alcohol. What about the products and services we use? Nestle, Coca Cola, Hewlett Packard, Vodafone, Google, Barclays. - Fundraising – Youth Groups and Churches are frequently used as fundraising bases for charities. This can sometimes lead to negative stereotypes being reinforced. We need to move from charity to Solidarity. - Global Youth Work is (p)olitical. Asking difficult questions about power, wealth, poverty.

Skills of a Global Youth Worker keep informed about local, national and world issues. make connections between personal, local and global concerns or events. motivate young people and others to develop a critical understanding of the world around them. be self-critical in terms of their personal lifestyle and attitudes. be open and honest about not always having the answers to young people’s questions. be prepared to find answers to new questions by doing research or contacting individuals or organisations. challenge discriminatory and oppressive language and behaviour in a way that opens up a dialogue with young people about issues of power.

Theory to practice……………

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