As part of its commitment to include in a safe and inclusive way children’s views and experiences in ENOC’s policy work, ENOC hosts an annual online training session on Child Participation and Child Protection in Participatory Processes. This training provides ENYA coordinators and interested staff members in ENOC member institutions, with a deeper understanding of child participation and child protection, in relation to ENOC’s annual priority theme.
Focus of the 2025 Training
This year’s session centered on child participation and protection mechanisms when engaging with children on the topic of the protection and promotion of children’s right to physical health.
Moderated by Ljiljana Breulj Štimac, from the Ombudsperson for Children's Office in Croatia coordinating ENYA 2025 activities, the training aimed to help ENYA coordinators create a safe and inclusive environment when engaging with children at the national/regional level within the framework of the project.
Participation and Structure
Attendance at the training was mandatory for all the 15 ENYA participating countries/regions, as a prerequisite for further involvement in ENYA 2025 activities. The session was also open to Ombudspersons for Children and their supporting staff.
The 2025 ENYA participating countries/regions are:
- Andalusia /Spain
- Basque Country /Spain
- Catalonia /Spain
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Iceland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Montenegro
- Northern Ireland /UK
- Poland
- Scotland /UK
- Slovakia
- Ukraine
Key Sessions
The training was divided into two main sessions:
- Child Participation – theory versus practical tips: this session provided theoretical and practical insights on meaningful child participation, key challenges, good practices, and suggestions of sub-topics to be explored by ENYA participating institutions, such as access to health services, equity and non-discrimination and more generally children’s rights in healthcare.
- Child Protection in child participation : the ENOC Child Protection Officer (CPO) and team led sessions on safeguarding policies and procedures when engaging with children. The team facilitated an interactive case study session, where participants worked in groups to address fictional child protection scenarios related to children’s right to physical health, fostering discussion on practical solutions.
- Experiences sharing breakout sessions: Participants engaged in peer exchanges on good practices and challenges related to this year’s theme.
What’s next?
Following the training, from March to June 2025, ENYA coordinators will be working with their groups of children to develop 5 rights-based policy recommendations related to this year’s theme. Two young people from each participating jurisdiction will participate at the ENYA Forum, scheduled to take place on 1-2 July 2025 in Jezerčica, Croatia.There, young representatives of the ENYA country teams will meet and create a set of common recommendations, which will inform the ENOC policy statement on children’s right to physical health to be adopted by the ENOC General Assembly in September 2025.
Find out more about ENYA and ENOC Child Protection Policy.