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A Tumultuous World Through Children’s Eyes
A Tumultuous World Through Children’s Eyes
We are living in an era defined by three long-term challenges shaping the lives of children around the world. The first is the climate emergency. The second is the difficulty in separating fact from fabrication in the age of digital media. The third is the limited capacity of our political institutions to drive positive change in a globalized world. This phase of the Changing Childhood Project – a survey-based collaboration between UNICEF and Gallup – explores how children and young people around the world are experiencing these developments compared to their older counterparts. We asked a series of questions to respondents in 55 countries as part of Gallup’s latest World Poll to learn: How well do young people understand climate change? Where do they find their information and how deeply do they trust those sources? And do they identify more as part of their country or local community -- or do they see themselves as global citizens? The answers are often as illuminating as they are surprising. For example: On average, across 55 countries surveyed, just 50 per cent of young people aged between 15 and 24 correctly identified the correct definition of climate change. While many young people rely on social-media platforms to stay informed, they are the least trusted of any information source the survey asks about. On average, 27 per cent of those aged between 15 and 24 said they identify most with the world as opposed to their nation or local area – approximately twice the percentage of those aged 65+. While our findings reflect deep fractures, they also help point the way to repair: the climate crisis, through education; the evolving information ecosystem, by supporting children and young people as they navigate it; and the tense global situation, through encouraging a different worldview among young people. Hearing the perspectives of children and young people themselves helps us to centre them in the work of improving life for all children, today and into the future. Dive in We encourage you to visit the Project's interactive microsite, designed especially for children and young adults to engage with the Project’s questions – including those posed in the survey – and to explore some of its key findings. For those who wish to delve further, research tools are open to the public.
Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth
Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth
Report Card 18 presents current levels and historic trends of child poverty (monetary and multi-dimensional) in 43 OECD/EU countries; projections of future trends in view of current crises; a detailed analysis of policy responses to child poverty in each country; and practical policy recommendations for tackling child poverty.
Loss and Damage Finance for Children
Loss and Damage Finance for Children
Climate-related loss and damage – such as the loss of land, life, livelihoods or cultural heritage – is one of the greatest intergenerational injustices that children face today. It threatens the rights of current and future generations of children Despite being the least responsible for causing the climate crisis, the children of today and tomorrow will face its impacts, including loss and damage, more acutely than any other generation to date. Yet children and their rights are largely absent from policy discussions and climate finance allocations. Where children are considered, they are treated only as vulnerable victims rather than as active agents of change. This report explores losses and damages that relate directly to children’s rights and well-being: It identifies opportunities for the United Nation's Loss and Damage Fund, together with other loss and damage financing, to address the negative impacts of loss and damage on present and future generations of children. It emphasizes that efforts to respond to loss and damage should be guided by the principle of upholding the rights of children. The report also features insights from workshops with children aged 11-18, sharing their lived experiences of loss and damage and their recommendations in their own words.
Data Must Speak: Mali
Data Must Speak: Mali
The Malian education system aims to guarantee universal and equitable access to quality education for all school-age children. Despite the progress made in implementing quality education in Mali, significant challenges remain.In Mali, some schools demonstrate exceptional performance. These "positive deviant" schools perform better than their peers despite operating under similar conditions and resources. This research utilizes administrative data to identify these schools, explore their success stories, and understand their locally led solutions. The aim is to empower educators and policymakers with practical insights for broader implementation.Data Must Speak (DMS) is a global initiative launched in 2014 to address evidence gaps and mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. It employs mixed methods and innovative approaches, including positive deviance, behavioral sciences, implementation research, and scaling science, to generate knowledge and practical lessons. The research focuses on understanding 'what works,' 'why,' and 'how' to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the international education community.On this webpage, you will find all the DMS Positive Deviance research outputs related to Mali:DMS Stage 1: Understanding what resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performanceStage 1 Report: Unpacking Factors Influencing School Performance in Mali (English and French)Policy Brief 1: Girls’ academic performance in basic education in Mali (English and French)Policy Brief 2: School performance and teaching in basic education in Mali (English and French)DMS Stage 3: Discovering locally led behaviours and practices to improve quality educationRapport Etape 3 : Des écoles qui inspirent le changement : recherche sur les écoles modèles positives au Mali (French)Executive Summary Stage 3 of the DMS research in Mali (English)
Data Must Speak: Togo
Data Must Speak: Togo
The Togolese government, through the education sector plan (ESP) 2014-2025, aims to achieve universal quality primary education. With this goal, they recognize the challenges in education access, participation, and retention. School performance is one of the areas through which they understand and address these challenges.In Togo, some schools demonstrate exceptional performance. These "positive deviant" schools perform better than their peers despite operating under similar conditions and resources. This research utilizes administrative data to identify these schools, explore their success stories, and understand their locally led solutions. The aim is to empower educators and policymakers with practical insights for broader implementation.Data Must Speak (DMS) is a global initiative launched in 2014 to address evidence gaps and mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. It employs mixed methods and innovative approaches, including positive deviance, behavioral sciences, implementation research, and scaling science, to generate knowledge and practical lessons. The research focuses on understanding 'what works,' 'why,' and 'how' to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the international education community.On this webpage, you will find all the DMS Positive Deviance research outputs related to Togo:DMS Stage 1: Understanding what resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performanceStage 1 report: Unpacking Factors Influencing School Performance in Togo (English and French)Policy brief 1: Giving all girls a chance for promotion and success (English and French)Policy brief 2: Investing in the teaching profession (English and French)Policy brief 3: Determining the best resources for the Togolese education system (English and French)DMS Stage 3: Discovering locally led behaviours and practices to improve quality educationRapport etape 3 : Des écoles qui inspirent le changement : recherche sur les écoles modèles positives au Togo (French)Executive summary Stage 3 of the DMS research in Togo (English)
Parenting Programmes to Reduce Violence Against Children and Women
Parenting Programmes to Reduce Violence Against Children and Women
While reducing children’s exposure to violence in the family requires working with individuals and families, communities, services, and systems to change attitudes, behaviours, and norms, this four-part evidence brief series intentionally highlights parenting programmes. In many communities, parenting programmes are already reaching parents and caregivers. Evidence suggests these programmes can be strengthened to reduce violence against both children and women and to promote gender equality, in addition to enhancing parenting and child outcomes. The first three briefs of this Parenting Programmes to Reduce Violence Against Children and Women series offer insights into how violence against children (VAC) and violence against women (VAW) often co-occur in families and distills the evidence supporting the potential that parenting programmes designed to prevent violence and promote nurturing environments for children, can also help reduce other forms of violence in the family. We invite you to explore all four briefs:Brief 1: Why it is importantBrief 2: What gender-transformative programmes look likeBrief 3: How to adapt programmes to address both types of violenceBrief 4: How to measure change
Female Genital Mutilation Evidence Brief - Burkina Faso
Female Genital Mutilation Evidence Brief - Burkina Faso
This brief presents an overview of the state of the evidence on female genital mutilation in Burkina Faso.
Growing up in an inner area
Growing up in an inner area
The characteristics of the local area in which children live have a fundamental influence on their daily lives. Growing up in an area that is ‘on the margins’ threatens children’s rights, well-being and development. A lack of local services and resources is a form of poverty that all children and young people in the area experience, irrespective of their family circumstances, and this poverty shapes their lives in the present and in the future. For this reason, UNICEF Innocenti has initiated a new programme of research – MAPS (Monitoring and Analysing child Poverty across Space). As a pilot for this programme, it selected one of the internal areas of Italy – that is isolated areas characterized by low population density, depopulation and an ageing demographic. The report “Growing up in an inner area: The lives of children and adolescents living in inner Cilento” presents the results of this study. The research involved children and adolescents from 6 to 21 years old through a range of qualitative and quantitative methods, as well as parents of children aged 0-5, adults in the community and key informants. The results of the research reveal a complex picture. While some characteristics of the area positively influence children’s lives, others risk depriving them of the opportunities that they need when growing up. The recommendations emphasize the need for a collective awareness of the urgent need to promote the development of the area starting with the revival of communities. It is essential that there is greater investment in services for children and young people in order to guarantee community well-being and build a more promising future.
Leading Minds 2022: Identities
Leading Minds 2022: Identities
In the 21st century, children’s identities are evolving, shaped by forces such as globalization, urbanization, demographic transition, climate change, digitalization, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitics. Identity is also at the heart of how many young people experience discrimination. Such experiences have led young people, in particular, to question entrenched beliefs, traditions, inequities and injustices related to identity. These questions were at the heart of Leading Minds 2022, a conference held in by UNICEF Innocenti in Florence in November 2022. The conference involved leading scholars, scientists, innovators, influencers, philanthropists, governments and young people who gathered to discuss identity and the need to build positive child identities. This publication provides insight on this critical conversation.
Designing a Youth-centred Journey to the Future
Designing a Youth-centred Journey to the Future
When we think about the future, we tend to think about children and youth as beneficiaries of the world we create. But this approach — regardless of good intentions — is a missed opportunity to learn from young people and co-design a future that better reflects their priorities. This youth foresight playbook aims to facilitate a more inclusive approach by offering ways to engage youth as co-authors and co-owners in foresight and decision making. Written for foresight practitioners and youth-focused and youth-led organizations, as well as think tanks and other UN agencies, Designing a Youth-centred Journey to the Future is hands-on toolkit developed to help make foresight more accessible to young people, and to transfer power to them through meaningful youth engagement principles. This playbook includes inputs from young foresight practitioners around the world and offers readers: An introduction to youth foresight UNICEF Innocenti’s youth foresight journey to date Insights from young people on leading their own foresight processes Resources and opportunities to support your journey A set of 12 worksheets offering tasks and activities you can use Acknowledgements This project is made possible with funding and enthusiastic support from United Nations Global Pulse and the Ministry of Foreign of Affairs, Finland. We are grateful for their continued partnership and commitment to youth participation and child rights.
Digital Learning Landscape in the western Balkans
Digital Learning Landscape in the western Balkans
This policy analysis examines regional and national policy and normative documents, and existing literature related to digital learning in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo1, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. The report captures the state of the education recovery after the COVID-19 school closures and explores trends, promising practices, challenges, and gaps in digital learning systems and policies. The purpose of the report is to support government partners in the development of national digital learning policies, plans and roadmaps. The preliminary findings from this research have been instrumental in shaping the UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Digital Learning Strategy for 2022-2025. 1 All references to Kosovo shall be understood in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
Teachers for All: Côte d’Ivoire
Teachers for All: Côte d’Ivoire
An equitable distribution of teachers is an essential criterion for ensuring that every child can develop his or her full learning potential, regardless of school or place of residence. In Côte d’Ivoire, significant progress has been made in terms of teacher recruitment to maintain manageable class sizes. However, teacher division has to be…
