The inaugural Africa Children’s Summit (ACS) was held in Nairobi, Kenya, on April 10-12, 2023. More than 300 children from across the continent convened for this child-led conference to facilitate dialogue between policymakers and children. The children shared and discussed challenges compromising child well-being in Africa. These challenges included climate change, environmental neglect, limited opportunities for child participation, violence against children, inadequate education, hunger, inadequate access to health services, online safety risks, and unfriendly justice systems.
Children planned, facilitated, and reported on the conference. The Kenyan delegation of children led the planning and hosting of children. They decided which adults to invite and reached out to Prof. Phillip D. Jaffè – Vice Chair, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; Dr Najat Maalla M’Jid- UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, and Hon. Joseph Ndayisenga -Chairperson of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the Special Rapporteur on Children on the Move; to be their chief guests. The attendance of those invited in each instance indicates the importance of the conversation and the international appetite for child-led engagements of this nature.
South Africa was selected as the location for the next Summit, with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (NMCF) as the lead Civil Society Organisation. NMCF is committed to ensuring that the ACS 2024 takes place in August 2024 in South Africa and that children lead in all aspects of planning for, executing, and following up on progress after the conference. To this end, the proposal below illustrates the urgency of the requisite sign-offs, considering the intention to host a regional Summit over the envisioned period from the 9th to the 12th of August 2024.
In the South African context, this could not be more urgent as the report on the state of the child in South Africa, commissioned by Deloitte and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, elucidates alarming numbers about experiences of violence. The urgency of addressing violence against women and children in the South African context, especially with the anticipated shifts in electoral politics and the ongoing crises in the country, requires immediate action. Therefore, the upcoming Africa Children’s Summit in August 2024 provides a timely opportunity to discuss and address this and other issues in tandem with the women’s sector and other critical stakeholders who are custodians of the child’s rights locally, regionally and internationally.
The purpose of the Summit is to bring children from across the continent together to discuss among themselves on children matters in Africa;
