Child movements

Many working teenagers around the world have organized themselves into groups to improve their own lives. They participate by playing an active role in analyzing their own situation and deciding what to do to improve their lives.

Organisations of working children and adolescents emerged at the end of the1970s, firstly in Latin America, and later during the 1990s also in Africa and Asia.

The Latin American groups are the strongest and most well known and are known as NATS (from the Spanish for Child and Adolescent Workers). It was children from NATS groups who took part in Eye to Eye in Bolivia. Save the Children Spain has been very involved in supporting NATS over many years. Since the photo workshops they have held an exhibition in Spain and had a visit from a South American NATS representative to talk to secondary students.

The international connections of the movement finally led, in 1996, to the first global meeting in India. Since then representatives from groups in different countries have met at international meetings in Peru, Senegal and other places. In 1999 they participated in the development of Convention 182 of the ILO on the ‘worst forms of child labour’ and more recently they participated in the World Social Forum, in Venezuela in May 2006.

There emerged a world movement of child and adolescent workers from the movements already existing in different continents. This world movement defined itself as ‘a social movement which battles for a fairer, more human and more dignified world’. Drawing from their own experiences the delegates considered it an ultimate priority, ‘to adopt measures against any form of marginalization and discrimination on grounds of race, caste, religion or sex and to advocate for respect for all people’s rights, especially those of working children.’

The working children’s movements have shown the capacity of children to actively participate in decisions that affect them, influence policies, highlight the issues that affect them and make an important contribution to their own and their society’s future. More importantly, it has provided them with a space to discuss their rights and improve their conditions, thereby reducing the risks of exploitation, increasing access to schooling and providing space for recreation.

Child worker movements insist that, “adults, authorities, NGOs and religious, international and world organisations, and wider society:

• Recognise our movement.
• Help us to strengthen our movement on a local, national and global level, to assure our participation in the taking of decisions that affect us.
• Guarantee the fulfilment of our right to participation and to be heard and we insist that the press give us the means to take our message to the wider society.