The objectives of this call are to support, advance and implement comprehensive policies to protect and promote the rights of the child, including the right to participate.

All proposals must embrace and respect a child rights-based approach and be clearly grounded in the EU Charter of Fundamental rights and the UN Convention on the rights of the child (UNCRC). As per the UNCRC definition, a child is a human being below the age of eighteen years.

Projects submitted under this call should limit their focus to this age group.
Projects can be national or transnational. Transnational projects are particularly encouraged.

Applicants should clearly indicate in their proposal which priority they intend to address.

Projects must address one of the following priorities:

• Priority 1 – Children’s rights in the digital age

The aim of this priority is not research nor development of technological tools (e.g. apps, platforms, software, serious games, AI tools).

The digital landscape in which children grow up today can both support and hinder the fulfilment of their rights. As children increasingly interact with a variety of online platforms, tools, and services, they gain access to educational and social opportunities.

However, this also exposes them to potential risks such as harassment, cyberbullying, misinformation, misleading and addictive commercial practices, data privacy concerns, harmful or illegal content, and even exploitation, even more so with the rapid development and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI). Moreover, early and prolonged exposure to digital environments and social media can profoundly affect children’s mental health.

This priority addresses multiple dimensions of empowering children online, preventing and protecting children’s rights as well as their mental health and well-being in the digital world notably in relation to cyberbullying, including: Promoting children’s digital literacy / Raising awareness of children’s rights online among child users, their communities, children’s rights civil society organisations, ICT professionals and digital service providers / Reducing the negative impact of digital use on children’s well-being.
Indicative funding available for this priority: €9.000.000.

• Priority 2 – Children’s engagement and participation

With this priority, the Commission aims to promote an inclusive and systemic participation of children in the democratic life at the local, national and EU levels to ensure that children’s voices are heard and listened to, especially in matters that affect them. This is in line with the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child – notably the establishment of the EU Children Participation Platform17 (the Platform). Projects submitted under this priority will aim at establishing or strengthening inclusive and systemic mechanisms for child participation at local and national levels. A ‘mechanism’ is understood as an initiative that enables children to express their views, and for these views to be taken into account in decision-making processes at local, national and EU levels. For this call for proposals, we consider a mechanism to be a regular process rather than a one-off initiative, initiated by an institution (e.g. a school), national/regional/local government or non-governmental organisation that follows the principles of inclusive, meaningful and safe participation of children in decision making.

The mechanisms proposed by applicants should make an effort to specifically include children who are often underrepresented in child participation mechanisms, such as children in situations of multiple vulnerabilities, children with a disadvantaged socioeconomic background, children with disabilities, migrant and refugee children, children from minority groups, children from rural areas and children in institutions, among others.

Furthermore, projects will endeavour to strengthen education on citizenship, democracy, disinformation, advocacy, equality (including gender equality). This may include meetings with influencers promoting democracy and diversity, co-creating with children handbooks and training sessions on advocacy, public speaking, etc. The projects will facilitate and promote participation in democratic processes, with the goal to engage children in policy discussions and increase the awareness of the general public on children’s rights. Projects should also aim at increasing awareness and knowledge among children of their rights, in particular their democratic rights, as a precondition to make children’s voice heard.
Indicative funding available for this priority: €5.000.000.

• Priority 3 – Embedding a rights of the child perspective in actions at national and local level

This priority focuses on implementing mainstreaming tools for the promotion and protection on the rights of the child at national and local level. Projects should ensure that these tools become fully integrated in policy and practices to ensure a systematic approach, including by:

• developing, monitoring and evaluating strategies on the rights of the child at national level, as well as at local level, in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, including children, civil society organisations, private and public actors,
• gathering reliable and comparable data on children, indicators or benchmarks on children’s rights that can support development of evidence-based policies,
• developing participatory research methodologies involving children,
• implementing child-rights budgeting —e.g. monitoring resources allocated to protection and promotion of rights of the child in national and local budget plans, such as EU funds, in a multidisciplinary approach,
• developing child rights impact assessment methodologies at national and local level,
• coordinating efforts at national and local level to better implement EU and international legal obligations, such as through the establishment of coordination mechanisms, platforms or exchanges among authorities, children, civil society organisations and other relevant actors working on children’s rights,
• developing trainings and awareness-raising campaigns on children’s rights.
  Indicative funding available for this priority: €3.000.000

Support of public authority

• Since priority 3 (“Embedding a rights of the child perspective in actions at national and local level”) directly addresses public authorities, their involvement in the consortium is mandatory either as lead or co-applicant (see section 6 “Eligibility”).
• For priority 1 and 2, it is strongly encouraged to involve a public authority, including national, regional and local authorities, to support or actively participate in the projects.

Child Protection Policies: Applications should clearly indicate which partner(s) will directly work with children (in person or online) and provide the necessary safeguards.

Gender Mainstreaming: Projects’ design and implementation are expected to promote gender equality and to mainstream non discrimination. Consequently, the applicants shall take the necessary steps to ensure that child-related issues and gender equality are taken into account by paying attention to the situation and particular needs of women and men, girls and boys, and of vulnerabilities of children.