International Save the Children Alliance
Ongoing Projects
International Save the Children Youth co-operation with YUNA -Tanzania
Ellen - empowering teenage girls
allan - daring to go beyond the frame
International Save the Children Youth co-operation with YUNA -Tanzania
Is the Convention on the Rights of the Child well-known in other parts of the planet? How can we improve our educational efforts, headed for children and youth, in order to reach out with information about human rights in general and the Convention of the Rights of the Child in particular? These are some of the questions we are asking ourselves in a new co-operation between Save the Children Youth - Sweden (RBUF) and Youth of the Untied Nations Association of Tanzania (YUNA). The overall purpose is to build a strong youth based and led international partnership towards furthering human rights education amongst young people in relation to different development contexts. Our main objectives are to:
- exchange and build our knowledge-base and capacity to work in the area of Human Rights Education,
- widen our perspectives of Human Rights Education beyond our borders, and
- come up with new methods to reach young people with Human Rights Education.
May conference on Climate Change Youth Perspectives on Security, Peace and Democracy
Ellen - empowering teenage girls
Ellen is a feminist-inspired project for 14 year old girls mainly aiming at counteracting sexual discrimination and strengthening girls' self-esteem.
The aim of Ellen is to encourage teenage girls to think more freely and critically. The project emphasizes the situation of teenage girls today and gives them knowledge about their rights.
Ellen provides the opportunity for the girls to talk openly about what matters to them. It is all about what it means to be a girl today, about love, self-esteem, and bullying.
Each group meets after school once a week and is led by trained group leaders, all of whom are between 19 and 30 years old. Having younger project leaders enables them to communicate easily with their peers, as they remember the issues the teens face and are able to act as role models.
A local Ellen project is always run by two trained project leaders. They apply for funding, lead group leader training, are responsible for contacts with the schools, and following up each project.
The Ellen projects always have their base in a local Save the Children Sweden or Save the Children Youth Sweden group. All people in Ellen work on a voluntary basis.
allan - daring to go beyond the frame
For many guys, teenage years are filled with thoughts. Am I enough as I am? How should I behave in order be accepted? Whom can I talk with? Why is it considered "sissy" to talk about feelings, and what does it mean to be a guy?
In allan, 14 year old boys meet once a week to talk about what it means to be a young guy today. They talk about love and emotions, about what happens when somebody goes beyond the norm or dares to be different, about acceptance, and other burning issues. The guys meet on equal terms, are taken seriously, and listened to with interest and respect.
They are encouraged to take a critical perspective on social norms and to reflect on their own behavior in terms of power and gender. They are empowered to make own decisions independent of cultural notions of gender and sexuality. allan fights against sexual discrimination, homophobia, and sexism.
allan consists of small groups which meet after school once a week, ten times during a semester. The male group leaders are between 19 and 30 years old.
Each local allan project is led by local project leaders trained by Save the Children Youth Sweden. All people in the project are involved as volunteers.