Summit

Child Protection Action Summit: Taking Stock—Moving Forward

From November 12^th through 14^th, 2008, political leaders, international donor agencies, and leading child protection experts gathered for the Child Protection Action Summit in Stockholm, a landmark event focusing exclusively on the issue of child care and protection in countries affected by war and disaster. The Summit officially launched the CPC Learning Network which was recently formed by Columbia University, CCF, the Institute for Development Studies in northern Uganda, the International Rescue Committee, PULIH Indonesia, Save the Children, UNICEF, and the Women’s Refugee Commission to improve child care and protection through the collaborative action of humanitarian organizations, local institutions, and academic partners. This three-day event, which was the first high-level, interdisciplinary gathering of its kind, sparked dialogue on lessons learned on peace and reconciliation, the rehabilitation of children affected by war and disaster, and the reintegration of children into the community. 

The first day focused on the needs for effective child protection and also for better evidence regarding interventions that work by engaging in a policy dialogue. In her remarks, Swedish Minister for International Development and Cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson, emphasized the need to improve the care and protection of children in emergencies.  Ms. Carlsson was joined by Hilde Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, Elisabeth Dahlin, Secretary-General of Save the Children Sweden, Annette Musu Kiawu, Vice Minister of Gender and Development in Liberia, and Wijdan Mikheil, Minister for Human Rights in Iraq, as well as others committed to child protection and well-being throughout the world. This day

The second day centered on discussions of recent developments and new trends in the field of child protection in emergencies, including a review of major new developments to establish evidence for current good practice. During this productive day, individuals participated in mini-workshops about:

Ø       Using an ethnographic assessment methodology to develop local indicators of child well-being

Ø       Strengthening interagency rapid assessment efforts for children in emergencies

Ø       Identifying the most effective methodologies and tools to establish incidence and prevalence rates for human rights violations such as gender-based violence and sexual exploitation of children

Ø       Examining the household economics of child protection

Ø       Transforming rudimentary emergency responses into protective systems and environments for children

Ø       Developing evidence-based management and programming

The final day of summit proceedings included of a series of partner-led technical working group meetings on various key child protection areas, including:

Ø       Economic Strengthening, Livelihoods & Child Protection

Ø       Early Childhood Care and development in Emergencies

Ø       Frameworks, Systems, and Assessments

Ø       Methods

Ø       Psychosocial Well-Being

Ø       Youth & Political Violence

The summit concluded with a review of the Declaration on Interagency Best Practice for Child Protection Programming and an invitation for all participants to join the CPC Learning Network.