Lead With Children, Transform Our World

Imagine what it would look like if children co-created the world around us. IICRD’s vision is one where children and youth play a central role in shaping the present and future, with adults offering the support required, so that in collaboration, children and adults can strengthen and transform our world. To achieve this vision, IICRD believes the approach to children’s rights needs to change. We will support this paradigm shift by: scaling child centered practices, leading community based system change work in the field, bridging diverse generations and sectors, and amplifying child led actions.

Our Approach

IICRD’s approach to leading with children and youth includes: highly participatory processes grounded in nature, art and play; investing in relationships, partnerships and collaborations; and co-developing processes that are applicable and adaptable to the cultural and regional context. We use child rights as a mechanism to stimulate a change process, recognizing the collective spirit of transformation. We are building a growing knowledge-base of promising practices through working with children and an expanding network of committed intergenerational practitioners working with communities to ensure young people have the support required to reach their full potential. IICRD will continue to evolve and learn by serving, listening, leading, and learning with children facing adversity around the world.

IICRD’s Principles of Work

- Lead with children and support their innovation

- Build from strengths and relationships

- Co-create with community

- Use intergenerational processes to support healing and wellbeing

- Bridge worlds using knowledge and action

- Recognize that personal and collective transformation is integral to creating positive social change

- Strengthen children’s wellbeing, not only as an outcome of the work, but as integral of the process