The Changing Childhood Project
Featured project | What is it like growing up today? And how do young people see the world differently?
We are living through an era of rapid and far-reaching transformation. As the world has changed — becoming more digital, more globalized, and more diverse — childhood is changing with it.
The Changing Childhood Project — a collaboration of UNICEF and Gallup — was created to explore these shifts, and to better understand what it means to be a child in the 21st century. The project seeks to answer two questions: What is it like growing up today? And how do young people see the world differently?
To answer these questions, we wanted to hear from children and young people themselves. Comparing the experiences and views of young versus older people offers a powerful lens to explore how childhood is changing, and where generations diverge or converge. The ultimate goal of the project is to centre young people — their experiences and perspectives — in the work of improving life for all children, today and into the future.
The ultimate goal of the project is to centre young people — their experiences and perspectives — in the work of improving life for all children, today and into the future.
To explore the Project's questions and themes, UNICEF and Gallup surveyed representative samples of at least 1,000 people in 21 countries. In each country, the sample was divided into two age cohorts: 15 to 24-year-olds, and those 40 and older.
We invite people from around the world, especially children and young people, to engage with the Project's questions and explore its findings using the interactive microsite.
A detailed analysis of the findings can be found in the Project's report. And users who wish to delve further are encouraged to review the questionnaire, methodology, full microdata and codebook. We would love to hear what you discover from your own analyses.