children's rights and private corporations

CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATORY RIGHTS

IN PRIVATE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

1Wednesday, 12 June, 13

This presentation is highly explorative and theoretical. This work represents some very new ideas and lacks any empirical evidence. As such, I hope that my work can contribute to an expanding research paradigm that will inform practice in the greater economic world.

The reason why i decided to focus on this area, is based on three main assumptions.

ASSUMPTIONS

•the emerging digitally-facilitated knowledge economy

(Hargreaves, 2003)

•a new set of technical skills and abilities to succeed (Kellner, 2003)

•the overly simplistic perspective of children by private corporations (Petten, 2012)


As a society, we are rapidly coming into a digitally-facilitated knowledge economy.

The knowledge economy is one in which economic growth and prosperity is increasingly influenced by the creation of new knowledge through multiple literacies, including reading, film making, coding and software design.

Through our education system, children will need a new set of technical skills and abilities in order to succeed in this new economy--not only to work and produce economic value, but even to participate politically, and have a rich and full social life. (I should also mention: that soft social skills, like empathy are important in this new society. The development of Facebook and other social networking skills are challenging the old ways in which we conceive of social relationships.)

My last assumption is that private corporations have an overly simplistic perspective of childhood--that they don’t consider children’s agency and ability to understand and participate in economic activity and the wider “adult” world.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

•United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child

•the ‘new’ sociology of childhood

•critical theory of society

increase children’s authentic participation in the business strategies and operations of private

corporations


These three frameworks give me the tools and rationale to advocate to increase children’s authentic participation in the business strategies and operations of private corporations.

Let’s look at each one individually.

UNCRC ARTICLES

Article 12: “the child who is capable of forming his or her own views [has] the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child.”

Article 17: “shall ensure that the child has access to information and material,” through mass media that is of, “social and cultural benefit to the child,” and in accordance with article 29 that articulates the child’s right to an appropriate education in, “preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society.”

Article 28, section 3: “... contributing to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy throughout the world and facilitating access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching methods.”

my interpretationUNCRC, 1989

on Participatory Rights


First, with these articles of the UNCRC and the emerging digitally-facilitated education system, the importance of realizing children’s participatory rights are paramount to the full realization of the UNCRC in today’s global economy. Digital technologies such as the Internet, personal computers, and mobile phones allow, “access to information and material (17). These digital technologies are also, “facilitating access to scientific and technical knowledge,” (28) and are increasingly becoming a, “modern teaching method” (28). Furthermore, these technologies allow for the expression, whether through the use of social media, blogging, or video conferencing, on, “all matters affecting the child” (12).

SOCIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD

The ‘new’ sociology of childhood views children as social actors who are capable of making sense of and participating in society. (Matthews, 2007)


CRITICAL THEORY

A critical theory framework that allows for, “more inclusive positions and to connect education directly to democratization and the changing of social relations in the direction of equality and social justice” (Kellner, 2003, p. 13)


Kellner also took into account the emerging capitalistic, knowledge society and the power dynamics within our education system. His theory allows for progressive social change within this system.

UNCRC Participatory

Rights

‘new’ sociology of childhood

critical theory of society

increase children’s authentic participation in the business strategies and operations of private corporations

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

but first...

my assumptions


Putting all these conceptual frameworks together, I propose to increase children’s authentic participation in the business strategies and operations of private corporations.

But first, let’s consider the the historical and current relationships between rights and private corporations....

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RIGHTS AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS

Parti

cipa

tory

Rig

hts

Exploitation

Hig

h

Chi

ldre

n’s

Parti

cipa

tion

Child Labour in sweatshops

Child prostitutionAdvertising and Marketing

educational technology

child work in family business

entrepreneurial activities

youth employment

Protective Rights

children as designers

children as decision-makers

Television

research with children

traditional research on children

Quadrant 2.2

Quadrant 1.1Quadrant 2.1

Quadrant 1.2

traditional behavioural research on children

Low

HighLow

children as customers and clients


This quadrant diagram represents the relationship between different levels of children’s participation and exploitation, and how protective and participatory rights influence private economic activity.

In this case, I use the word, “participation” to represent children’s agency in society whom are able to fully express and convey their own views, opinions and perspectives.

Exploitation

Hig

h

Child Labour in sweatshopsChild prostitution

educational technologychild work in family business


youth employmentchildren as designers



Quadrant 2.2


Quadrant 1.2

Low

HighLow

progress on protective rights

for states:•UNCRC Article•int’l and nat’l legal

frameworks

for private business:•UN and UNICEF CSR•UN Global Compact•Children’s Rights and

Business Principles

Efforts to reduce harmful exploitation


Chi

ldre

n’s

Parti

cipa

tion


I would argue that we’ve been pretty good at reducing extreme forms of exploitation by businesses. Several articles in the UNCRC mention the need to reduce harmful exploitation. As a consequence of the international rights movement, several international and national legal frameworks have been constructed to protect children from harmful work, like extreme forms of child labour and prostitution. However, most of these frameworks articulate state obligations--not business obligations.

Considering the increasing wealth, power, and influence of private corporations, there has been a recent international movement to hold private corporations accountable to children’s rights.

For example, the UN and UNICEF have recently released initiatives to engage private corporations to respect and promote children’s rights in their business strategies and operations.The UN Global Compact, a UN department that is dedicated to working with private businesses to promote rights, launched an initiative called, Children’s Rights and Business Principles. Their flagship document, outlines 12 guidelines for private corporations to respect and promote children’s rights.

However, there is a relatively no mention of participatory rights.

Quadrant 2.2 Quadrant 1.2

Exploitation

Hig

h







Television





Low

HighLow

progress on participatory rights

Children’s efforts for economic rights

•The Christian Workers’ Movement in Peru in 1979

child labour is seen as a necessary evil, and it is better to recognize children’s active

participation and advocacy in creating safer working conditions

Two sets of arguments:children’s work can contribute to their personal

development and prepare them to play a responsible and meaningful role in their societies

Quadrant 2.2 Quadrant 1.2

Chi

ldre

n’s

Parti

cipa

tion



Where can we look for movements in recognizing children’s participatory rights?To illustrate the high exploitation quadrants, several movements in Latin America have been identified where children stood up for their rights as workers.

One such children’s movement, called, The Christian Workers’ Movement was founded in Peru in 1979 in order to recognize children’s economic rights and give them a new legal situation in order to improve their working conditions. Their slogan is: “Yes to work, no to exploitation”.

Their argument is that child labour is inevitable in the existing capitalist system and the poverty resulting from it (Berge, 2007). Therefore, child labour is seen as a necessary evil, and it is better to recognize children’s active participation and advocacy in creating safer working conditions.

Another argument, articulated by Liebel (2002), is that children’s work can contribute to their personal development and prepare them to play a responsible and meaningful role in their societies.

These positions have lead to an active debate: whether children should be able to work considering our current economic systems.

DISCUSSION

As child rights advocates, do we support children’s right to work, or do we protect them so that they can focus on

their education and development?


If child labour is inevitable, should we recognize children as workers and give them the same rights to safe working conditions? Or, should we continue working towards a fair and equitable society where children don’t have to work because their parents and caregivers are able to afford a decent lifestyle and education for their children?

Exploitation

Hig

h







Television



Quadrant 2.2


Quadrant 1.2


Low

HighLow

Children’s Advertising and Marketing

children’s perceptions of television and commercials•capable of making distinctions•able to articulate their

perception

children’s consumer rights•children influencing

parental purchasing behaviours

•the subsequent effect on marketplaces

Chi

ldre

n’s

Parti

cipa

tion



Let’s consider the relationship between children’s rights and private corporations in a North American context. Relative to the developing world, there are low levels of exploitation in this context. However, we still have lots of work to do in terms of fully realizing the UNCRC and all the rights of the child--namely, participatory rights.

Let’s take a look at this lower left quadrant, where there is low exploitation and low levels of children’s voice.

One economic activity that is controlled by private corporations is advertising and marketing. (remember the last time you were at a GAP Kids Store, have you noticed the height of the clothing displays? Or, children’s television commercials: are they geared towards children or adults? How can they be exploitative?)

Some studies have taken a look at children’s perceptions of advertising and marketing and found that children are capable of making distinctions between television shows and commercials. Another study, that based its argument on children’s consumer rights, found that children had considerable influence on their parents purchasing behaviours, which subsequently influenced economic markets (Nicholls and Cullen, 2004). Additionally, children sometimes felt exploited by advertising and marketing which had a negative effect on the perception of the company.

My point here is that children are aware of the economic world around them and continually make distinctions and judgements. It is time for private corporations to realize this and incorporate children’s authentic participation in their business strategies and operations.





Quadrant 2.2


Quadrant 1.2

Realizing the full rights of children

UN’s efforts to engage private corporations

importance of Corporate Social

Responsibility

literature on the knowledge society

and ed. tech.

Examples:•research with children (Matthews, 2007)

•children has design partners (Druin, 2003, 2002)

•children as urban planners (Knowles-Yánez, 2005)


Finally, we have, what i argue is the optimal area for children’s participation in economic activity, where exploitation is low and participation is high. Considering the recent movements by the UN to engage with private corporations, the increasing importance of corporate social responsibility, and the literature on the emerging knowledge society, children have a unique opportunity to realize their participatory rights in private economic activity.

One recent inspirational trend is in the academic research field. The involvement of children in the design and development of research and the acknowledgement of their social agency is growing rapidly (Matthews, 2007).

Another example is working with children as design partners in the development of educational technologies. Allison Druin from the University of Maryland is leading some interesting work that is paving the way to include children as full participants in the design of educational technologies that will ultimately be used to support their own education. For example, she is working with children to design new digital libraries for children--children provide the knowledge on how to best organize data to make it more accessible. Additionally, she uses some innovative approaches to engaging children in this work.

The last example, is involving children in local land use planning in cities. For example, UNICEF launched an initiative called Child Friendly Cities which seeks to revamp governmental structures of cities to accommodate for the right’s of the child.

In another study, children reported that they preferred land use variety and places associated with activity and social interaction (Talen and Coffindaffer, 1999).

Often, urban planning is influenced by the decisions and initiatives of private corporations and are based on an economic model rather than social networks (Chawla, 2006).

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RIGHTS AND PRIVATE CORPORATIONS

Parti

cipa

tory

Rig

hts

Exploitation

Hig

h




child work in family business


youth employment

Protective Rights



Television



Quadrant 2.2


Quadrant 1.2


Low

HighLow

Chi

ldre

n’s

Parti

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tion



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