Recently, Woodcraft Folk asked group leaders to encourage their young members to take part in a survey from the UN about their rights to social protection and inclusion. Many groups took part in the activity, answering questions about what young people know about their rights and what actions by the Government they hope to see in the future to support young people from all backgrounds and circumstances.  

On Thursday 16 March, two young members of Woodcraft Folk attended an online call with the UN Human Rights to share the answers from Woodcraft Folk groups who had completed the survey. Marianne, a  Pioneer from Highgate and Holloway and Daisy-Mae, a Venturer from New Barnet were able to share their own views as well as those collected by other young members of the organisation about social protection and inclusion in the UK and what they feel the challenges and barriers some young people face to experience a safe, healthy, happy and fair childhood.

Daisy-May aged 15 says:

“Many young people get free school meals which helps them have healthy food at school which I think should continue. There is a good amount of mental health support for young people in some areas but this should be across the whole country. We could do more in schools to learn about children’s rights.”  

The call was also attended by young people from other countries; there were young people from countries including Mozambique, New Zealand, India, the Netherlands and Belgium that gave Woodcraft Folk participants a new perspective as they were able to learn about experiences of other young people in different parts of the world. 

The group used a Jamboard to share their ideas – it was very full! 

The next steps are for UN Human Rights Office to continue working on their report and then in June, share a draft with an opportunity for young people to comment. Again, Woodcraft Folk is encouraging groups to take part in the consultation as an organisation that is passionate about promoting children’s rights and educating young people about what to do if they feel their rights are not being met, recognised or respected. 

You can find out more about Woodcraft Folk’s dedication to making more aware of the rights of the child by visiting our Kids Got Rights page and checking out our toolkit and handbook. 

The post Young Woodcraft Folk members share survey insights with UN Human Rights appeared first on Woodcraft Folk.

The project brings together young people from seven organisations across Europe including Woodcraft Folk. Partner organisations in the project are Nuorten Kotkien Keskusliitto (NKK, Finland),  Arciragazzi (Italy),  Esplais Catalans (ESPLAC, Spain), University of Barcelona (UB, Research Group), Kinderfreunde ( Austria), Slovenian Falcons Youth Union (SFYU, Slovenia)  and DUI-LEG og VIRKE (DUI, Denmark).

The project has seen 15 ‘Children’s Rights Superheroes’ from each organisation develop skills, knowledge and confidence in talking about, questioning and advocating for children’s rights. This has included taking part in international events to meet with partner organisations such as a trip to Barcelona earlier this year and a trip to take part in the ‘Children’s Hubs’ in Austria. The project activities also included national events where participants have reflected on how the United Nations Convention on the rights of children (UNCRC) is being adhered to in their everyday lives.

The Kids Got Rights project participants came together for a final time this summer at Common Ground international camp in Northampton. The Superheroes from all organisations had a chance to lead workshops they had created together for the participants of the camp.

 
Part of the project was to develop a toolkit to help organisations start conversations about children’s rights with young people. The toolkit is full of activities, discussion ideas and information about the UNCRC and how young people can recognise and challenge when their rights are and are not being met and respected. Check out the toolkit here and try some of the activities yourself, with your group or with family and friends. The toolkit was inspired by the voices of the Children’s Rights superheroes and is easily accessible for young people to use themselves. 

The final part of the project is to launch a new handbook for group leaders focusing on supporting young people to advocate for causes that matter to them. The handbook focuses on the children’s rights which are about participating in advocacy and prompting youth voices being heard to encourage change. 

To find out more about the Kids Got Rights project go to the project page.

The post Woodcraft Folk launches Kids got Rights! toolkit appeared first on Woodcraft Folk.

Kids Got Rights! focuses on child participation and the empowerment of children through self-organisation and claiming their own rights. The project involves children from 8 to 13 years old in six international meetings and several national activities, besides a parallel research action, aimed at raising awareness and training children and adults around the topic of children’s participation rights.

Since March 2021, a group of young Woodcraft Folk members from the UK have come together to form Children’s Rights Superheroes to take part in the project. Following on from the trip to Barcelona in March, a group of six young people (from Waltham Abbey and Leeds Woodcraft Folk districts) accompanied by Waltham Abbey group leaders Jan and Jojo, headed on an adventure to Austria for the International Kids Hubs. 

The group set off on Good Friday and had an early start! After flying to Vienna, they met friends from Kinderfreunde and the other participating organisations and enjoyed some free time to explore Vienna and then travelled by coach together to Dobriach. The five hour coach journey presented the young attendees with some breathtaking scenery which even went through the mountain range! 

Over the weekend the participants got to meet new friends from across Europe and they worked collaboratively to design their own social media campaigns and explored the Dobriach, Kinderfreunde owned campsite. 

On the last night of the trip the group cooked on the campfire and shared treats and sweets from each country. The Woodcraft Folk group took Mini Cheddars and sherbert lemons to represent the UK.

The Woodcraft Folk participants worked together with their international counterparts to develop a social media campaign around what they have learnt throughout the project. This included loads of information and knowledge about Children’s Rights – what they are and how young people themselves can call out when they are not being recognised, respected or met. 

After a weekend of creativity and active wide games – one of which included some wheelbarrow racing! – the group began their journey back to Vienna to return to the UK. 

The next steps of the Kids Got Rights! project are for the Woodcraft Folk Superheroes to develop their social media campaigns and launch them as well as deliver sessions around children’s rights and what they have learnt at international camp Common Ground this summer.

To find out more about Kids Got Rights! head here

The post Kids got Rights! heads to Austria appeared first on Woodcraft Folk.

The Kids Got Rights project is a two-year project led by IFM-SEI and is funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2022). The project brings together young people from seven organisations across Europe and focuses on child participation and the empowerment of children through self-organisation and claiming their own rights. The young participants get involved in international meetings as part of the programme as well as national activities, a parallel research action (aimed at raising awareness) and training children and adults around the topic of children’s participation rights.

The group met with other delegates from IFM-SEI (Belgium), Nuorten Kotkien Keskusliitto (NKK, Finland),  Arciragazzi (Italy), Esplais Catalans (ESPLAC, Spain), University of Barcelona (UB, Research Group on Moral Education – GREM, Spain), Rote Falken Kinderfreunde Österreich (Austria), Slovenian Falcons Youth Union (SFYU, Slovenia)  and DUI-LEG og VIRKE (DUI, Denmark) organisations from across Europe. For all of the young delegates, the trip marked a special milestone as it was the first time they had taken part in an international opportunity and also the first time they had travelled abroad without their parents.

The check in meeting included sessions around evaluating the project so far which involved reflecting back over the past year and looking ahead to what was coming up next. The group also enjoyed a very speedy trip to the Barcelona harbour led by the University of Barcelona. The weekend allowed time for the young people to get to know each other as they played games and shared experiences of living in different parts of Europe. There were a few language barriers however, translators were present to help and towards the end of the weekend, it was lovely to see that the young participants found their own ways to communicate through games and fun. One of the games, ‘mission impossible’ involved the groups having to cooperate with each other (with the only help being translating from adults) to complete 10 tasks in 15 minutes. This activity brought the group together and really helped to break some of the language barriers. The group succeeded in turning impossible to possible and completed all the tasks together!

On the second evening, the group took part in an intercultural evening where every organisation shared a snack and a game from their country. The Woodcraft Folk group shared the classic custard cream biscuit and the more controversial snack of twiglets. The Finnish delegation taught the group the ‘blanket game’ which was a fun way to get to know each others names.

The young people enjoyed meeting their international friends and planning the next stages of the project. The project team is planning to meet again in Austria over Easter for the International Kids Hubs.

Find out more about the project here and look out for the toolkit of activities and resources developed by Woodcraft Folk young members and their international counterparts coming soon.

The post Kids Got Rights UK project team heads to Barcelona! appeared first on Woodcraft Folk.

Workshop facilitators, Johan (13) and Henry (11) from Leeds, led the workshops as part of an ongoing project on Children’s Rights. Woodcraft Folk is one of 7 organisations working with the International Falcon Movement to raise awareness of Children’s Rights as part of the Kids Got Rights project. 

Johan and Henry used a variety of participative tools to support the adults to explore and add to their understanding of the UN Convention. Adults participated in a short quiz challenging their knowledge of Children’s Rights in relation to employment, privacy, education and health care. They then played charade and a rights whisper game, all good fun whilst helping the group feel confident in describing Children’s Rights.

The groups reflected that as we celebrate the 32nd Anniversary of the Convention too many children and young people experience discrmination, abuse and food insecurity. Together we shared our experiences of Children’s Rights, the impact of lockdown in removing a child’s right to play.

Woodcraft Folk’s Chair of the Trustee board, Aggie Taylor said “It was refreshing to have such young leaders at our General Council meeting as it was a reminder not only of the amazing work Woodcraft Folk is doing but also of the competencies of our young people and how important it is for us as adult leaders to be enabling them to use their voice in Woodcraft Folk and beyond”.

For more information about the Kids Got Rights project please visit here.

The post Kids Got Rights Celebrate Rights of the Child Day appeared first on Woodcraft Folk.

The 13 young people who attended the weekend had the opportunity to learn about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). They explored the countries who have signed up to it as well as looking at those countries who haven’t signed the convention. The participants also looked at the worldwide situation around child labour through discussions, treasure hunts, indoor and outdoor games.

The participants were tasked with co-creating their own workshops to raise awareness of the UNCRC and children’s rights. The group came up with some very creative ideas such as new games like ‘Children’s Rights Whispers’ and ‘Right or Wrong’ which involved playing in the woods while learning about children’s rights. The young people who attended the weekend will deliver these workshops to their local group/district members back at home with the aim to raise awareness about their rights.

During the breaks we had the opportunity to explore the beautiful nature around the centre and play some board games. The days ended with a nice and warm campfire while roasting some delicious marshmallows. Some of our dedicated volunteers joined us to offer an extra pair of hands to help keep the residential running smoothly.

Thank you all for participating and look out for the session plans they have created coming soon!

The post Kids Got Rights Cudham Weekend appeared first on Woodcraft Folk.