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Stages of the "Promoting Rights Among Working Children" Project

Creation of Stakeholder Network with CSOs and Ministry of Labor

A network of the active civil society organizations working in child protection was established to form linkages and connections between civil society and the Child Labor Unit (CLU) in the Ministry of Labor. The goal was to work together to improve services and communication.

Survey of Child Labor Activities and Organizations

The YMCA formulated a questionnaire that was distributed to CSOs to assess their work on children rights. The mapping targeted around 100 groups in the country.

Roundtable Discussions with Government and Civil Society

The YMCA along with the CLU held four roundtable discussions to engage key stakeholders in two interrelated processes. First, means of cooperation and coordination were identified. These discussions paved the way towards the formation of the network. Second, the meetings contributed to developing protection tools under the project such as the youth game. The four roundtable discussions were held in Beirut, Tyre, Nabatyeh and Baalbeck.

Development of Game for Children to Learn about their Rights

The idea of the game was formulated during the workshops, incorporating ideas that were presented and the feedback of the participants.
A group of youth and children were involved in the development stages by providing their continuous feedback and by assisting in drawing the pictures that were used inside the game. A competition was made and a group of children were selected to draw the pictures and color them. These pictures refer to the children's rights emphasized in the game and constitute the essential phase of the game.

The game is easy, highly interactive and most importantly in Arabic in order to cater to the poor educational background of the ultimate users and beneficiaries. The game provides children with questions, answers, interactive tools and drawings to convey the needed message. Children can play in a group, share information, and compete to find their hidden rights.

The game is a card game that illustrates 25 children concepts and rights that mainly summarize the Child Rights Convention according to the required needs. Every right is made up of 5 cards that better illustrate the concept or right whether in written or in drawing.

Distribution of Game and Training of Trainers

The game was executed and distributed to NGOs, CSOs, schools, and other groups that are involved in child labor or have children at risk.

Four training of trainers were performed in the South, North and Beirut to train key persons in the organizations after familiarizing them with the project and the concepts and values of the game. Around 60 NGOs attended the trainings, exceeding the original target of 15 groups as there was a high level of interest among NGOs.

Upon completion of the training, the trained activists, under the supervision of the project management and close coordination with the YMCA, engaged in a process of dissemination and outreach within their respective CSOs through the provision of services to working children or school drop out ones or ones at high risk of dropping out.

Game Dissemination

The game was disseminated to children from all over Lebanon. More than 600 children played the game and more are still playing it now. It is estimated that around 500 other children will be playing the game during the summer season.

Children like the game because it introduces the importance of their rights and how they should cope with the outside world without being abused, mistreated or even marginalized.