{"id":4921,"date":"2021-11-11T15:54:40","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T15:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gracamacheltrust.org\/?p=4921"},"modified":"2021-11-11T15:54:40","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T15:54:40","slug":"introducing-an-interactive-digital-platform-that-will-allow-african-children-to-learn-about-their-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.gbstudio.co.za\/gmt\/featured\/introducing-an-interactive-digital-platform-that-will-allow-african-children-to-learn-about-their-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing an interactive digital platform that will allow African children to learn about their rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is estimated that over 400 million children are currently living on the African continent. But, how many children are aware of the existing child rights systems and mechanisms designed to protect their rights? According to Child Rights International Network, children are affected by all of the Sustainable Development Goals, and not only poverty, hunger, good health, access to quality education, gender inequality, climate change and violence. To address the need to explicitly recognise children’s rights, the Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust (GMT) revealed that African children still have limited or no awareness of their rights or of the complaint mechanisms available to seek redress when those rights are violated.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Children participants of the HAKI4All Children training <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust, in partnership with\u00a0<\/span>Save the Children<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Regional Programming Unit (RPU) for East and Southern Africa, contracted\u00a0<\/span>Mtoto News<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0and the digital innovator\u00a0<\/span>Qhala<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0to develop the\u00a0<\/span>HAKI 4 ALL Children<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0platform which was officially launched virtually on Wednesday, 10th November 2021. During the launch, Mr Richard Montsho, Child Rights Programme Manager for GMT, highlighted how GMT advocates for the Promotion and Protection of Children’s Rights and Dignity through this innovation. “We invested in HAKI 4 ALL Children primarily to increase children’s knowledge, understanding and capacity to protect and promote their own rights and that of their peers,” he said. Adding that, the platform will teach children about their rights and responsibilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0“It is our conviction that children have what it takes to be Human Rights Defenders”<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Child Rights Officer for the Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust, Ms Caroline Makumbe<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>shared the vision that contributed to creating this innovative learning tool to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>help thousands of children know about their rights. She said, “Our vision in creating the HAKI 4 ALL Children Learning Toolkit was to ensure that as the Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust, we embrace and adopt new technologies and ways to advance Child Rights on the continent. We also deliberately ensured that children were central in developing a fresh, fun, and innovative way of learning about their rights and the existence of the complaints procedures both at a local and regional level.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The partnership with Save the Children Regional Regional Programme Unit (RPU) has helped promote children’s rights across the continent through the facilitation and supporting child rights education workshops and training. Mitchel Chiviru is the Regional Child Rights Governance and Partnership Coordinator for Save the Children (RPU) and has been an influential partner during the process. He said, “Save the Children’s Regional Programming Unit (RPU) for East and Southern Africa is pleased to have collaborated with the Gra\u00e7a Machel Trust in developing a simplified version of the Complaints Mechanism Toolkit. We are confident that this Toolkit will be instrumental in equipping African children with a better understanding of the available local and regional procedures and processes that should be taken to report violations of their rights to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of children.”<\/span><\/p>\n

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Developing this portal began in 2017 when the\u00a0<\/span>Regional Complaints Mechanisms<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for child rights violations in Africa was still being finalised and was informed by research conducted by GMT. A study conducted in 2018 revealed limited child-appropriate materials available to teach and learn about complaints mechanisms and the availability of remedies in their countries. Also, the Covid-19 pandemic hampered efforts to reach children on the continent to sensitise them about their rights, hastening the development of the HAKI 4 ALL Children digital platform and, later, the\u00a0<\/span>Self-Study Workbook<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for children with limited or no internet access.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Qhala\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>is a tech innovator based in Nairobi specialising in transforming businesses through digital solutions and has supported the development and launch of this exciting and innovating digital platform. “We are delighted to be able to expose as many children as possible to the joys of digital learning. We are honoured for the opportunity to apply a digital tool to the work of upholding the rights of children on the continent,” Shikoh Gitau, CEO Qhala.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Reaching millions of children, one child at a time<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The platform’s HAKI 4 ALL Children Prototype was piloted in 15 countries across Africa, including Namibia, the Central African Republic, and Chad. So far,\u00a0<\/span>over 2,500\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>children have been trained, with the final platform currently being piloted in five countries through the following partners this year;<\/span><\/p>\n