the Council of Europe has developed the Handbook on children’s participation for professionals working for and with children, to support professionals of various backgrounds in implementing the Council of Europe Recommendation on the participation of children and young people under the age of 18 and Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Handbook to be launched on 21 January 2021 is a practical step-by-step tool which explains the concept of child participation in theory and in practice, while guiding professionals through its implementation in different settings.

In particular, it sets the ground for developing participatory environments in institutions working with children or providing services to them – schools, early childhood education centres, hospitals and others – and reaching out to children in different ways, both individually and collectively. The webinar will launch the Handbook, with the participation of the three authors, as a comprehensive learning tool and collection of good practices and guidance to be applied in any context where adults work with children. The online event will bring together the experts who have prepared the Handbook, children and interested professionals to discuss the importance of child participation in decision making and explore some of the possible ways forward.

In this webinar, Dr. Vandana Sharma and Machrine Birungi will highlight good practices and challenges from developing and testing the Unite for a Better Life (UBL) podcast series to prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) in a Somali refugee setting.

The UBL podcast series is an innovative, gender-transformative programme that builds on the Somali tradition of storytelling. Podcast episodes, including dramas, interviews, and debates, were co-created by Somali refugees and broadcast at listening centres in the Bokolmayo refugee camp along the Ethiopia-Somalia border. The UBL podcast series includes a total of 16 episodes that address gender, healthy sexuality, conflict resolution, household task-sharing, substance use, and sexual harassment.

This is the final webinar in a three-part series about UBL.

Watch the first webinar at: https://prevention-collaborative.org/resource/preventing-ipv-in-rural-e…

Watch the second webinar at: https://prevention-collaborative.org/resource/unite-for-a-better-life-a…

The Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies is a pledge issued at the 2019 Global Refugee Forum by ten key institutions to join forces and collectively make a difference for the education of crisis-affected and displaced children and youth. The Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies will be launched on the occasion of the 2021 International Day of Education.

A high-level panel will exchange with participants on how the Hub can be a catalyst for change to respond to children's education needs in contexts affected by conflict, violence, disaster and displacement. The Hub will be a platform that welcomes other member states and Geneva related organisations across sectors, which are committed to bringing education in emergencies to scale.

Interpretation will be provided in Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish, as well as sign language.

For more information: Petra Heusser, pheusser@unicef.org

Join speakers from End Violence, UNICEF, the UN Secretary-General Special Representative on Violence Against Children, World Vision and government representatives to discuss financing the end of violence against children. Speakers include: 

• Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF
• Dr Najat Maalla M’jid, UN Secretary-General Special Representative on Violence Against Children
• Dana Buzducea, Global Lead on Advocacy and External Engagement, World Vision
• Government Representatives

This event will be moderated by Dr Howard Taylor, Executive Director of End Violence.

According to the CDC, emergency room visits related to children's mental health rose dramatically for school-aged children and adolescents from March - October 2020, compared to the previous year. Social isolation, anxiety around illness, grief, and disruptions to school are exacting a major toll on children’s mental health. This webinar will convene experts in the field, including frontline service providers and young activists, who are spreading awareness, expanding access to care, improving resilience, and driving action to address this crisis.

Moderated by Childhood USA Board member, Annika Sten Pärson and panellists include:

• Emanuela Acquafredda, MPH, Director, Healthy and Ready to Learn Initiative, Children's Health Fund
• Jordan Ott, Youth Advisory Council Member, Comic Relief U
•  Julia Song, Youth Advisory Council Member, Comic Relief US and Filmmaker, Ghetto Film School
• Monika Heimbold, Co-founder and Childhood USA Board Member, MSW, Founder The Heimbold Family Playing & Learning Center, Scandinavia House
• Sherri Papamihalis, Clinical Director of the Safe Horizon Counseling Center, Safe Horizon.

Following the introductory webinar held in December 2020, this second in the series will present the first INSPIRE strategy “implementation and enforcement of laws” in more depth.

On 19 January 2021 from 15h30-17h00 CET this second webinar will cover:

• Overview of the strategy and brief presentation of relevant findings from the Global status report on preventing violence 2020
• Implementation and enforcement of laws reducing access to alcohol and guns
• Global efforts to reach prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings
• Implementation and enforcement of laws to end sexual abuse and exploitation of children

Q&A session with the experts Confirmed speakers for the webinar include Anna Giudice (UNODC), Richard Matzopoulos (Medical Research Council of South Africa) and Sonia Vohito (Global Partnership to End Violence against Children). The webinar will be moderated by Stephen Blight (UNICEF). 

Learn more.

UNICEF, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children and the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children cordially invite you to join a global discussion on ending child sexual abuse and exploitation. We will hear from experts and global leaders on the latest state of evidence for prevention and response; on understanding its prevalence; on efforts to address the online dimensions; on the response of governments; and on the centrality of preventing child sexual abuse and exploitation to the achievement of SDG 16.2: ending all forms of violence against children.

This event is an affiliate event of the Together to #ENDviolence Solutions Summit Series. The Series aims to inspire the end violence against children community and catalyse the political and financial commitments needed to end violence against children by 2030.