The 2nd International Conference on Child Protection in Africa.
Theme: Violence Against Children ~ From Evidence to Action
The International Conference on Child Protection in Africa (ICCPAfrica) is a biennial event organized by the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The conference is jointly organized by State and Non-State Agencies. The lead agencies being The Directorate for Children Services, the NCAJ’s Standing Committee on Administration and Access to Justice for Children, National Council for Children Services; UN agencies; Universities, and non-governmental and private sector practitioners.
The ICCP Africa 2023 is the follow-up to the 2018 First International Conference on Child Protection in Africa, which focused on the themes of resilience, innovation, and evidence. Additionally, the 2016 International Conference on Best Interest for Children (BIC) in the Justice System, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya, served as the model for both gatherings. The special taskforce that organized the BIC conference is currently the Standing Committee on Administration and Access to Justice for Children. A unique feature of the 2023 conference is that it has coincided with the NCAJ’s Annual Child Justice Summit, which necessitates a joint platform to share learnings on administration and access to justice for children in the context of VAC.
The Conference comes three years after the global COVID-19 pandemic and seven years before the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are accomplished. The ICCP Africa 2023 will allow experts in child safety the chance to confer on fresh ideas, breakthroughs, and evidence of their success and learnings, in reducing violence against children. All in accordance with the idea of having zero tolerance for violence towards children. In view of current concerns noted by stakeholders, such as the urgent need to end all forms of violence against children worldwide, the 2023 conference offers an opportunity to build on prior successes. The conference will also highlight capacity shortages and emerging good practices as supporting data to inform changes in programs, policies, and legislation that are in the best interests of children in Africa. The conference organizers acknowledge that there is a chance to learn from other continents and that the conference’s outcome will be good for children all around the world.
Why Join ICCP 2023
Great Speakers
Inspiring experts in the field
International Networking
International networking opportunities and excellent Workshops
Publication Opportunities
Possibility of having your paper reviewed and published alongside other papers.
Objectives
The conference will provide a platform to practitioners and researchers to enahnce professionalism, sharing of promising practices and capitalizing on strengths of diversity and associations for practice in Africa. Further, the conference will be an avenue for networking of various service providers in the children’s sector to enhance advocacy towards implementation of various conventions and guidelines on ending all forms of violence against children.
Specific Objectives include:
- Sharing emerging good practices and innovations that accelerate commitments towards prevention of violence against children.
- Identifying gaps in preventing violence against children within the African continent.
- Challenge child protection practitioners to embrace zero tolerance on practices that prevent protection of children.
- Explore the future of child protection in Africa.
Sub-themes
- Understanding the Prevalence, Nature, Effects and Drivers of Violence Against Children (VAC)
- Legal, Policy, and practices for Responding to and Preventing VAC
- Evidence on Programs and Services that Effectively Prevent and Respond to VAC
- Strengthening Collaboration coordination, and oversight of VAC interventions
- Technology as an Enabler and Intervention for Addressing VAC Technology and VAC
- Prevention and Response to VAC in Humanitarian and Emergency Contexts
- Sustainable Funding for Enhancing Prevention and Response to VAC
- VAC in the context of Alternative and Community-based care
- VAC in the Context of Culture and Politics
Child Participation
The ICCP 2023 will provide an opportunity to hold a global children’s forum on VAC. A total of 150 children are expected to attend, with 50 of them from Kenya. The children will begin with in-county and country forums where they will meet to deliberate and document their perspective on VAC along the theme and sub-themes of the conference. The children will prepare papers which will be presented in a two day parallel conference held at the NITA Training Centre in Kitengela, Kenya. The children will also present papers in the adult led conference and participate in the drafting of the conference resolution. A separate concept note detailing child participation is attached.
Participants & Key Events
The conference is targeting 450 participants drawn from all over the world – government, civil society organizations, universities, young people with care experiences and research institutions and UN bodies. This will comprise experts and practitioners in various disciplines and children service delivery sectors related to juvenile justice. The three day conference will have five plenary and 12 breakaway sessions. A special session for children from all over the globe will also be constituted. The participants will benefit from a wide range of presentations which will include oral and poster presentations. On the night of the second day there will be a special networking dinner, where local government officials will be invited to address the delegates.
