ASPIRE: Leadership for Planning and Decision-Making with Adolescents

Adolesent participation massive open online course (MOOC)

Adolescent Development and Participation (ADAP) Section, 2022

UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia (ROSA)

Are our institutions adolescent-friendly?

Meaningful adolescent participation in governance and institutional settings is only possible in
accountable and transparent institutions. For our purposes, we will also look specifically at how
institutions are shaped to plan for and with adolescents.

In the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDG 16: Strong institutions, justice and peace, has
several targets that refer to institutions that are transparent and participatory. All these are important
to realize rights-based participation.

SDG 16 Targets for transparent, accountable institutions are as follows:

16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels

16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with
national legislation and international agreements
16.b: Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development

It is important that when meeting these SDG targets to build strong institutions, that we also uphold
children’s rights. For this, we need to ensure

1. accountability and transparency towards children including adolescents

2. participation of children, including adolescents, in decision-making at all levels
3. child and adolescent-friendly and accessible information and the protection of the fundamental
rights of all children
4. non-discriminatory laws and policies related to children, including adolescents, in all their
diversity

If we want to look more closely at how community- and adolescent-friendly our institutions are, we can
consider the following criteria for

a. general and adolescent-specific policies and mechanisms and

b. organizational norms

1
 Adolescent-specific
policies and practices
Institutional culture

•The institution nurtures

•The institution has: and develops:
•The institution has: •Policies and practices •inter-generational
•Policies and practices on on child and dialogue
Non-Discrimination adolescent best- •a learning culture and
•Participatory, interest
learns from children
Subsidiary, Governance •Adolescent data and and adolescents
Mechanisms evidence
•Bottom-Up planning and •empathetic staff
•Relevant and responsive to service
delivery and joint-up accessible Information
delivery users including
•Child and adolescent children and
•Convergent life-cycle budgets developed
approaches to planning adolescents
with them
•equal treatment for
•Child and adolescent all, including women,
General policies and participation
children, low income
practices •Safeguarding groups, and other
mechanisms marginalized groups
•Redresal and
complaints
mechanisms
•Review and evaluation
with and for
adolescents
•Interdeparmental
collaboration for
adolescents

More explanations here:

Policy and Mechanisms Institutional Norms

Policies on Non-Discrimination: Your institution
has policy commitments to gender-equality,
inter-generational solidarity, equality and non-
discrimination
Participatory, Subsidiary, Governance Inter-generational dialogue: Your organization
Mechanisms: Your institution has transparent encourages dialogue with adolescents,
and participatory governance mechanisms in particularly the most marginalized in order to
policy and practice across the programme cycle develop greater understanding across
and at all levels of decision-making, with generations.
decisions made at the lowest level possible.

2
Joint-Up Delivery: Your institution is dynamically A learning culture: Your institution promotes a
linked to other agencies/institutions in the learning culture that shares and uses data and
provision of joint-up services and support for evidence, and long-term institutional learning,
adolescents and also learns from children including
A life-cycle approach: Your institution has a life- adolescents.
cycle approach to planning that looks specifically
at the needs, vulnerabilities and concerns of Empathetic staff: Your staff are empathetic to
younger children, adolescents, young people, your constituencies and service users including
adults, senior citizens and how vulnerabilities and adolescents. They listen to and respect them.
capabilities are inter-linked across the life cycle.
Best Interest Practices: Your institution makes Equal treatment: Your institution practices
decisions that are in the best interest of children affirmative action, gender-equality and non-
including adolescents, with their views taken on discrimination, including towards younger
board meaningfully. constituencies.
Adolescent-Specific Data and Evidence: Your
institution is committed to adolescent-specific
data and evidence, including adolescent
participation in research cycles
Information in adolescent-friendly formats: Your
institution provides adolescent-friendly and
adolescent relevant information that is relevant
to your organization’s mandate
Child and adolescent budgets: Your institution
has adequate budgets for adolescent
programming to fulfil community/national needs.
Adolescents and young people are involved in
priority setting, taking into account available
resources.
Child and adolescent participation: Your
institution is committed to meaningful
adolescent and youth participation across the
programme cycle
Redressal and Complaints Mechanisms: Your
institution has child and adolescent-friendly
redressal and complaints mechanisms that are
accessible, responsive and resolves issues fairly.
Accountability to children including Adolescents:
Your institution has accountability mechanisms
that involve young people, including in
monitoring and evaluation
Inter-Departmental Collaboration for
adolescents: Your institution collaborates across
sectors and departments/agencies to deliver for
adolescents. This joint-up programming pays
specific attention to adolescent aspirations and
vulnerabilities across sectors.