School as a place to live that understands the importance of children's voices. I wanted to start by introducing you to the Tunisian Forum For Youth Empowerment (TFYE) but my colleague, Lara Pocock, had already written an excellent story on this subject which I invite you to read here.
What is the Children's Ecosystem offered by TFYE?
From the moment I arrived, I was impressed by the commitment, dedication and motivation of TFYE to bring a multitude of hope to the faces of children. I discovered a world of children who care and are always on the lookout for protection.
This atmosphere is both moving and revealing, showing us how important it is to put children at the heart of our decision-making and to give them the opportunity to express their opinions and views.
The association regularly organises activities, workshops for reflection, awareness-raising and training on the development of initiatives relating to the child. On these occasions, the Ministry of National Education, children and their parents and several other associations that TFYE supports in carrying out awareness-raising projects on issues related to children's rights are usually present.
Child participation, the TFYE vision
Children have the right to be heard and to express themselves on all decisions that affect them, whether at home, in their community, at school or on personal legal or administrative matters. For TFYE, children's involvement is a fundamental right that must be protected, as it also promotes the full development of the child's personality and capacities.
The support of the Project for the projet de renforcement intégral des droits de l’enfant (PRIDE) (PRIDE) has undertaken many initiatives to highlight the cause of children. Training and awareness-raising plans have been put in place to facilitate action at national level and to help make children's voices heard in their own countries. As a result, children are better equipped with strategies to defend children's rights in democratic and civic life.
Thus, the project "Pupil and student ambassadors of citizenship and human rights", initiated and implemented by the Tunisian Forum for Youth Empowerment
in partnership with Engagé.e.s et déterminé.e.s, contributed to the promotion of human rights and health education in schools and universities.Empowerment in partnership with Engagé.e.s et déterminé.e.s, contributed to the promotion of human rights and health education in schools and universities. In this perspective, the project provided for an intervention to promote citizenship and human rights among children in schools, while involving the active participation of children in the process and in decision-making.
It was also an opportunity for the voluntary partnership that presides in my mandate with PRIDE and to provide support initiatives on several aspects: the evolution and protection of the child as well as the maintenance of the association in a dynamic of responsible operation and long-term evolution. Our mission includes support for internal communication, advocacy and child participation.
The dynamism and vision of the TFYE teenagers’ clubs
For the TYFE, the objective is to bring young people together around unifying themes that allow them to build themselves, to develop and to learn to live together, but above all to be vectors of change in society.
The creation of teenage clubs is an important asset for the development of their knowledge on human rights and citizenship issues in schools and universities.
A total of 16 clubs have been set up in primary and secondary schools and universities. These clubs are real places of welcome that encourage responsibility, autonomy and encounters between adolescents and young people, and are now references in the Tunisian educational sphere and in the associative environment.
Today, TFYE's vision is oriented towards improving the institutional framework of the school, which should be a place of life for every child. Since then, the Ministry of Education, having understood the values advocated by the association, is its first partner for the improvement of the living conditions of children in the educational environment.
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