Project history

This innovative project encourages APEC Member Economies to use education to combat child labour as part of their overall growth and economic development strategy. The initiative has been instrumental in building alliances to promote awareness and action in the participating countries. The groundwork has also been set for a regional network to promote the sharing of good practices and lessons learned.

Achievments

• Indonesia: Efforts to promote greater synergies between national committees on the worst forms of child labour, Education For All and poverty alleviation have made significant inroads towards ensuring that national development frameworks including the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and nine years basic education reach working children.
• Mexico and Viet Nam: For the first time, local authorities and communities have been sensitized to the risks of the worst forms of child labour and motivated to use education to combat this problem.
• Peru: A musical CD-ROM featuring 30 popular Peruvian singers was produced to reach non-literate communities where the worst forms of child labour practices are prevalent; a mayoral debate in Lima centred on the issue of child labour.
• Philippines: Building on previous work that used education to combat child labour at the national level, efforts have been made to reach local communities and affected districts.
• Thailand: The Employers’ Confederation of Thailand and the National Council for Child and Youth Development have worked together to increase opportunities for decent and productive work for young people.

Materials developed in all countries include policy memoranda, teacher training materials, videos, media kits, informational CD-ROMs, musical CD-ROMs, posters, leaflets and T-shirts. All this has been achieved in collaboration with other child labour and education programmes in the countries.