An edocommunication-based approach for the rights of the child : responding to the challenge of implementing article 12 of the CRC in Guinea-Bissau

Abstract

Can Educommunication be a good approach to address the challenges of the fulfillment of the rights of the child in Guinea-Bissau, namely Article 12 of the CRC, “participation” and right to be heard? The reflection around this question is presented in this Thesis based on information collected with different stakeholders that are dealing directly with the matters of the child in this African country as members of national NGO’s, State officials, International Organizations as UNICEF and, mainly, the children. The theoretical framework of this research is founded on Educommunication theories from Paulo Freire’s bibliography of the time he went to a post independent Guinea-Bissau in the Seventies to recent Educommunication studies and also experiences developed nowadays by children in Brazil and Africa, especially “Rede de Crianças e Jovens Jornalistas da Guiné- Bissau”. The voice of the child is the starting point and main lead of this research that concludes by recommending a nation-wide Educommunication-based approach for human rights to respond the challenges of the implementation of Article 12 of the CRC in that country. Since its independence no president has managed to conclude his mandate and in Guinea-Bissau: the 10th lowest HDI of the world. The recommendations provided in this Thesis are aligned to the most updated concluding observations on Guinea-Bissau provided by the Committee on the Rights in June 2013.