Child labor

The main aim of this workshop is to raise students' awareness of the issue of child labor. The workshop aims to familiarize children with the realities of a southern country. They will learn that people there live differently, and that child labor is the result of several factors working together (poverty, lack of education, a vicious circle, lack of laws and controls to circumscribe child labor). Secondly, the subject of street children will be addressed, and the need for programs and laws that encourage education and the abandonment of child labor.

To get to grips with the theme of children's rights, we're going to start by using images to define what a child is, what a right is, and what child labor is.

For the younger students, we'll play a simulation game in which they have to work in teams to produce as many paper bags as possible. At the end of this activity we calculate how many bags the students have produced and how many daily products they will be able to buy.

For the older students, we've prepared videos on chocolate/clothing production. Role-playing follows. The different groups have to prepare arguments for the label they represent. The aim of the game is to convince a store representative (the animator) to buy a particular product.

We will conclude the workshop by addressing the various short-term and long-term solutions to child labor.

Each workshop consists of a theoretical part where we work together to summarize the problem. This is followed by a more active part, which changes according to the age of the students. For younger students, we might prepare a series of images to comment on, or educational games. For older students, we offer text/video analysis, role-playing or positioning games.

Our approach is to provide students with enough information to discover the conclusion themselves. After a moment of realization/study, they structure what they have learned. The aim is to bring about a change in thinking/behavior so that they become active players in our society.

We can adapt the content of our workshop to the level or pre-knowledge of your students. Our workshops are designed for students aged 10+, but can be adapted for younger students. We could also include your wishes regarding the content (if you'd like us to talk about a certain country, for example, or just one aspect of the issue).