I Speak. Listen. Act.
The aim of the digital campaign on child participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will be launched in the coming period, is to bring children’s views, needs and expectations closer to the public and highlight the changes needed to ensure that their right to participate is visible in everyday life.
The campaign is being implemented within the framework of the project “Connecting the Dots 2 – Advancing Child Participation in Decision Making for Enhanced Child Rights and Democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, implemented by World Vision BH Foundation and the Association “Naša djeca” Sarajevo, in partnership with the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the financial support of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The campaign is based on the findings of the Study on Child Participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which included children from more than 20 local communities across the country and provided insight into their views on participation in decision-making processes that affect them.
The Study showed that children’s participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still not sufficiently integrated into institutional and social processes. Although there are positive examples and initiatives, there is a need to develop a more stable and coordinated system in which children’s voices are heard and taken into account in practice.
Based on the findings of the Study, a range of digital content has been developed – including infographics, animations and videos – presenting, in a simple and child-friendly way, what children said, what they want and what they expect from institutions and society. That is why the campaign starts with a simple question: What did children say needs to change?
The campaign will present their messages about how they perceive their participation, what matters to them, where they see obstacles, and what changes they expect from adults, institutions and society.
The campaign creates space for children’s voices to be heard and for their views to be taken into account in decision-making processes. Their views, needs and expectations can contribute to creating an environment in which children have meaningful opportunities to participate actively and influence decisions that affect their lives.
I Speak. Listen. Act. This is the campaign’s message, calling on children to express their views, adults to listen to them, and all of us to contribute together to changes that will make children’s participation real and visible in practice.
