Co-creating multi-media tools with children and young people to challenge decision makers in better listening to their views and acting upon them

Estimated at 25-30 days of work – September- December 2024

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

ECPAT International is a global network of organisations working together for the elimination of the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in all its manifestations i.e., exploitation of children in prostitution, online child sexual exploitation, sale and trafficking of children for sexual purposes, sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism and some forms of child, early and forced marriage. The ECPAT Network currently consists of 126 members working at national and local levels in 105 countries.

The ECPAT International Secretariat coordinates the global work of the organisation and is based in Bangkok, Thailand. The Secretariat designs and implements global and regional level programmes, and undertakes programming, advocacy and research and facilitates a range of network initiatives.

CONSULTANCY CONTEXT

ECPAT International believes in the importance of promoting the agency of children and young people. We aim to enable children to observe and identify issues affecting their lives in the local communities, and to empower them to express their views on those issues through different ways, including multi-media tools that can be used to target key decision makers from local to global levels to stimulate not only to ‘listen’ to children and young people, but also to open meaningful spaces for them to be engaged as key rights-holders and to ensure their views are taken into account.

ECPAT International is part of the She Leads consortium that aims to increase sustained influence of girls and young women on decision-making and the transformation of gender norms in formal and informal institutions. She Leads is a joint programme from Plan International Netherlands, ECPAT International, Defence for Children – ECPAT the Netherlands (DCI-ECPAT), African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), and Terre des Hommes the Netherlands (TdH-NL). Although children and young people’s rights to engage in public decision-making and to freely express themselves are enshrined in international treaties, girls and young women advocates confirm that engagement in decision-making spaces remains extremely challenging, even more for girls and young women who experience intersecting forms of discrimination and biases. ECPAT recognizes one of the primary shortcomings is adults’ hesitation and reluctance to engage with children in general, and survivors in particular.

To address this obstacle and achieve more substantive adult support for meaningful child participation in addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse, ECPAT drafted a model to develop more Adult and decision makers’ support for Child Participation.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this consultancy is to collaborate with She Leads girls and young women from Eastern and Western Africa to co-create tools to engage decision-makers to reflect on their attitudes and behaviors that impact the meaningful participation of children and youth in policy development ‘We are speaking – are you ready to listen?’

SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will have to develop a process to engage online with girls and young women in co-creating multi-media tools and related resources that will be used by the young people to address decision-makers in various advocacy forums, for them to reflect on issues such as

• What can we do to share our power with young people safely and ethically?
• How can we build joint understanding and expectations from the participation of children?

The consultant is expected to work in a collaborative and participatory manner with the She Leads girls and young women on the following activities:

• Activity 1: Develop and lead the participatory process to co-create online resources and tools with girls and young women from 7 countries in Southern and Western Africa through their peer representatives. This will mean the consultant will have to explain the approach to the girls and young women and co-design tools (online quizzes, short videos, infographics) to be used by the girls and young women to engage with decision makers.
• Activity 2: Produce a suite of multi-media tools to challenge decision-makers’ perceptions about children based on the GREATER model and toolkit.
• Activity 3: Develop accompanying communication materials and social media campaign to support the dissemination of the tools.
• Activity 4: Provide support for testing of the tools with decision makers at 2 key events and adapt the tools based on the feedback.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The consultant will submit to ECPAT:

• A minimum of 3 videos of high quality and resolution. The duration of the videos will not exceed 3 minutes.
• 3 infographics, quizzes and other interactive tools developed with the children and young people that can be self-administered by decision-makers who want to engage with children.
• Social media outputs for dissemination
• The participatory process document used to engage with the children and young people for replication in other contexts
• All tools should be made available in English and French. ECPAT will provide the French translation and the consultant will create the voice-over.

TIMELINE

It is expected that the assignment will require approximately 25-30 working days and should be completed between early September and end of December. The timeline will be adapted based on young people’s availability and key advocacy events and opportunities.

CONSULTANT PROFILE

The consultant or groups of consultants need to have:

• Proven experience in developing and implementing communication and advocacy strategies, including social media and media outreach on child rights and with children.
• Experience in producing advocacy videos for NGOs, the private sector or the government, particularly on social and human rights issues, with the engagement of children.
• Experience in facilitating participatory processes with children and young people, especially in advocacy activities.
• Proficiency in filming, editing, and graphic design software and capacity to create videos and other multi-media tools.
• Ability to create compelling and engaging visual content.
• Understanding of accessibility requirements, including subtitling and possible sign language interpretation.
• Experience working in diverse cultural contexts and understanding of gender issues.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This is a home-based position using their own equipment. The consultant(s) should be available for online calls including with different time zones in particular with Thailand where ECPAT International Secretariat is based.
• The Consultant is expected to act at all times in a manner consistent with the values of ECPAT International and in compliance with the organisation’s policies and procedures including Safeguarding Policies and the Code of Conduct.

OUR COMMITMENTS

As ECPAT’s International Secretariat we recognise that our strength lies in the diversity of the people who make up our global network, staff, volunteers and consultants. We are committed to being an inclusive workplace where people of all backgrounds and cultures can strive and be themselves. This means we will challenge ourselves to do better and to continue learning, to create and maintain a working environment steeped in respect, tolerance, safety, and where all parties are valued equally.