On the 16th of May 2026, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria hosted a pivotal workshop on Child Participation and Leadership in Thohoyandou, South Africa. The Workshop was the 5th in a series of regional events, with similar programs having been launched in Kenya, Malawi,Zambia, and Lesotho. The event empowered young minds to actively shape policy, leadership, and human rights advocacy.
The session was interactive and structured to align with regional human rights standards, particularly the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) to educate children on their right to be heard. The Workshop sort to create a respectful space for children to voice their thoughts, ideas, and concerns confidently and without fear, and to equip them with tools to enhance their ability to participate effectively in various settings and to propose solutions to issues that affect their lives.
The workshop provided insights into what child participation is, its historical development, international and regional framework on child participation, the core tenets of child participation, the importance of child participation and the forms of child participation. Children were encouraged to engage respectfully and the workshop also highlighted practical areas in their daily lives where they can participate meaningfully.
Demonstrating the true potential of meaningful participation, the children took an active, diligent role in guiding the proceedings and leading the day's activities. The highlight of the event was the official re-establishment of the Global Campus for Human Right's Child Leadership Team (GC-CLT) in South Africa. To close out the workshop, the participants nominated 15 children to join the GC Africa CLT. The GC CLT is an initiative that promotes meaningful child participation across Global Campus initiatives, ensuring children’s perspectives inform academic, policy, and advocacy processes, strengthens agency and leadership among children, equipping them with skills and confidence to influence debates on child rights and global challenges and foster collaboration between children, youth, academics, and practitioners in advancing child rights education and practice. The 15 selected children join the already existing group which has children from Lesotho, Zambia, Malawi and Kenya
For more information, please contact:
Childrens Rights Unit
Tel +27 (0)12 420 6209
rotondwa.mashige@up.ac.za
Tel +27 (0) 12 420 3587
mmanoko.masipa @up.ac.za
