Principles
UNICEF C4D’s core principles guide how C4D practitioners in the organization work with communities, development partners and programme staff. These principles are based on the human rights based approach to programming, particularly on the rights to information, communication and participation as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 12, 13 and 17). They include:
- Facilitating enabling environments that:
- Create spaces for plurality of voices and promote narratives of communities
- Encourage listening, dialogue and debate
- Ensure the active and meaningful participation of children and women
- Reflecting the principles of inclusion, self-determination, participation and respect by ensuring that marginalized and vulnerable groups (including indigenous populations and people with disabilities) are prioritized and given visibility and voice;
- Linking community perspectives and voices with sub-national and national policy dialogue;
- Starting early and addressing the whole child — including the cognitive, emotional, social and spiritual aspects in addition to survival and physical development;
- Ensuring that children are considered as agents of change and as a primary audience, starting from the early childhood years; and
- Building the self esteem and confidence of care providers and children.
