UNICEF, UP Open University launch child rights comms course

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – Communications and campaigns professionals are encouraged to enroll in the online course launched by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Open University of the University of the Philippines, which includes a module on Communicating for Child Rights Protection and Promotion. 

The free online education platform will offer 8 courses on Child Rights Promotion and Protection and will cover the following themes:

• convention on the rights of the child;
• developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating programs on child rights protection; and
• communicating, advocating, and mobilizing for child rights protection and promotion, including social media and children.

In the communications aspect, the course outline includes the Theoretical Approaches, Traditional and New Media for Child’s Rights Protection and Promotion, Advocacy and Social Mobilization for Child Rights Protection and Promotion and Special Project on Child Rights Protection and Promotion.

“Creating a child-friendly and protected community is a collective effort and should be a concern of every caring citizen. To do this, massive capability building efforts are needed,” said Dr Grace Javier-Alfonso, UPOU Chancellor. 

She added: “UPOU, as an educational institution and a public service university, takes on the task for this challenge by offering courses as massive open online courses (MOOCs).”

Multimedia format

The course is classified into 3 clusters. The first cluster covers the theoretical, legal and strategic foundations for child rights protection and promotion. The second, planning and implementing programs for child rights protection and promotion – and third, communicating and advocating for child rights protection and promotion. 

Advocates are encouraged to enroll in the third cluster which includes Communicating for Child Rights Protection and Promotion: Theoretical Approaches, Traditional and New Media for Child’s Rights Protection and Promotion, Advocacy and Social Mobilization for Child Rights Protection and Promotion and Special Project on Child Rights Protection and Promotion.

Each of the online courses will run for 4 to 6 weeks and will be delivered in a multimedia format – video, text, and podcast. It also intends to minimize language barriers so the program will be offered in both English and Filipino language.

The free courses were initially designed for child rights actors at the community level and were availed through scholarship grants. Now, through UPOU’s 10 years of experience in developing courses in a distance e-learning module, anyone can learn about key aspects of children’s rights by just downloading the modules. 

“With this project we are hoping to create a bigger impact on the fulfillment on the rights of children. By giving anyone access to these learning tools, we empower everyone to act so that children will enjoy their rights to survival, development and protection,” said UNICEF Philippines Representative Lotta Sylwander.

UNICEF is a leading humanitarian and development agency working globally for the rights of every child. The UN Agency has spent nearly 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. – Rappler.com

The course program started its implementation on August 15, 2015 and will be carried out until March 2016 under the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The information related to the course can be accessed at http://www.upoumodel.com/.