children as change agents

Children As Change AgentsFor the future of sci!nce & society

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Forward

The 21st Century Dilemma

Children as change agents: The SiS Catalyst Project

The three sides of the Mountain

The Children as Change Agents Ecosystem

SiS Catalyst E-Learning Courses

Peer Mentoring

The Diversity and Inclusion Map

How to listen to and empower children

Engaging students

The ‘What we recommend’ workshops

The AHA Album

Change in Action – the SiS Catalyst Case Studies

Working Ethically

The SiS Catalyst Declarations

Crossing science in society and social inclusion agendas: Engaging the academic community

Convincing Policy Makers

The Principles of Change Agency

The 7 Steps for Change

Conclusion

References

Bibliography

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Published by Association Traces, 23 rue des Balkans, 75020, Paris - France, in 2015

Authors Tricia Alegra Jenkins MBE, Dr Graeme Atherton & the SiS Catalyst Consortium

Printed by Kingfisher Design & Print Ltd. Merseyside, United Kingdom. (Fonts used Myriad, Transmogrifier, Agilita LT Pro, Agilita Com) 1000 Copies Printed

The ISBN number :Price in Euros and Pounds €0/£0Dépôt legal (legal deposit) February 2015

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69Cont

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Forward

Speaking at the kick-off meeting in Liverpool in February 2011 I wished ’Bon Voyage’ to the travellers about to embark on their SIS Catalyst journey together. Now four years on I am delighted to recommend this book as a souvenir of their travels together. However this book does not represent the end of the journey but a milestone along the way. The project funding from the European Commission has now finished, but the journey goes on.

www.archive.siscatalyst.eu

By Professor Sir Howard Newby CBE AcSS

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This book offers the beginning of the creation of a new roadmap for science with and for society by the simple act of recognising children as societal actors. The landscape of public engagement has now changed as a consequence of children being recognised as a ‘public’ in their own right.It also questions the role of higher education in this new landscape; how can universities be catalysts for the sustainable development that our world so urgently needs. The SiS Catalyst travellers propose that Children’s University type activities have the potential to become the bridge for academics not just to work with children but also to co-create knowledge with them.

This is a radical dialogue, which will require humility and openness within the higher education sector and a genuine desire to embrace change. However the third message that the SiS Catalyst travellers brought back with them is the very positive message, that not only must we change, we can change!

This excerpt from “The Prophet” by the Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran, in many ways encapsulates the thinking behind SiS Catalyst and our responsibility as the custodians of our children’s future.

Children As Change Agents“Your children are not your children, they are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself. They come through you but are not from you, and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.”

- Khalil Gibran

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The 21st C!ntury Di"#mma

The world does not face any more challenges at the start of the 21st century, than it did at the beginning of the twentieth. The difference is that we are better able to predict what they are going to be. However, as was the case 100 years ago we seem unable to make the changes necessary to adapt to the challenges we face. In fact while we are in many ways far more advanced as a planet now than at the time of the Great War we are still doing some things in much the same way.

The most striking way in which we are failing to adapt is in education, when this may be the best, if not the only route by which the challenges facing the world in the 21st century can be addressed. There are several genuinely global issues that we know we face which interact with each other in dynamic and changing ways across countries and regions. Education is the route to meeting all these challenges.

www.archive.siscatalyst.eu 5

Creating rewarding and

remunerative employment for all: It is estimated that 47% of jobs in the

US alone will be automated by computers by 2034 (1), but at the same time there

will be a shortage in the number of workers educated to ‘college level’ of

30-40 million by 2030 (2).

Finding an acceptable level

of inequality: The richest 85 people in the world are as wealthy

as half the world’s population (3). Over forty years, income per capita is 23% higher in a country with more

equal education (4).

Coping with climate change:

If we continue on our present path climate change will be irreversible within the next two decades (5). However research in 2013 shows that across 29 countries, 25% of people with less than secondary education

expressed concern for the environment compared to 37% of people with secondary

education and 46% of people with tertiary education (6).

Building peaceful multi-

ethnic societies: Over 75% of the world’s population

will live in cities by 2050, bringing together different cultures and groups in ever closer spaces and

creating new unforeseen tensions (9). Education can counter these tensions.

In Latin America for example those with a secondary education are 47% more

likely to be tolerant of those from a different race than those with

primary education (10).

Overcoming new threats to health

and well-being: Nearly 40 million people have died of HIV in the last 30 years (7). Our inter-connected

world creates new threats to health via pandemics and climate change. At every level from primary upwards education is associated with better health outcomes. The lives of 2.1 million children under 5

were saved between 1990 and 2009 because of improvements in girls’

education (8).

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However, while education may be the route too few children are following it. There are an estimated 250 million children in the world who cannot read or count (11). Even for those who achieve it a prosperous and secure future is not guaranteed. In India nearly one-third of graduates are unemployed (12). In Europe, the most prosperous region in the world, over 50% of graduates are worried about their future careers (13). Despite that fact we know this - as with the global challenges above, the 21st century dilemma dominates: we know the problem but appear unwilling to do something about it.The solutions offered thus far are in the main technological. Either revolutionising the way in which schooling is delivered via the digitisation of the classroom, or the deconstruction of higher education via Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). But technological change will be unlikely to bring 250m children into education alone, nor to enable us to overcome the 21st century dilemma. Technology is just a tool.

Real change can only come when attitudes and values are transformed. This requires a different approach to education per se. The last 100 years have shown us that adults alone have been unable to do this. Policymakers, the public even teachers become stuck in recurring timewarps where the education they create for their children is

the image of their own. Adults automatically look backwards. They appear inherently unable to create future-facing education. It is time to get children to do it.

This book will describe the first step in the journey to reboot education systems across the world to enable children to become the agents of change. It will describe the work of the SiS Catalyst Project, and the children as change agency model.

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Childr!n as Chang! Ag!$%&:The SiS Catalyst Project

The SiS Catalyst project was an ambitious attempt to initiate the new thinking and practice required if we are meet the challenges of this century better than we did those of the last. It aims to address the global challenges of the 21st century through the development of a simple idea:


“as childr!n are the future, we must involve t'#( in the decisions of t)day”

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During the four-year funding period more than 50 organisations from over 30 countries were involved, working together on a collective experiment to develop a model for a new educational ecosystem that places children as the drivers of the learning experience. It was not started in the classroom, nor in the school itself. The aim was to break out of the idea of formative educational experiences for children being delivered purely within the formal schooling system. The effect of this assumption is so embedded within the majority of formal systems that the only way to effect change is to start from a different standpoint. The SiS Catalyst project engaged museums, galleries, theatres, non-government organisations, community organisations and in particular universities to create a global innovation network sharing ideas and practice regarding how children can be engaged in the educational process in a different way.

It was not a research project, nor did it fund the development of new projects – even though many have emerged from the work of SiS Catalyst. The project sought out where innovation was occurring, brought them together and utilised the power of networks to scale up their impact. As a Mobilisation European Union funded, Mutual Learning Action Plan, the belief was that innovation existed but it was unconnected. It sought to

identify the foundations required to represent a model that policymakers and practitioners could conceive of as being robust enough to develop in their own contexts.

The role of Higher Education Higher Education has a particularly prominent place in the change agent ecosystem and a higher education institution, the University of Liverpool, led the project itself. Progression to higher education is seen as the way in which children will be able to impact on the global challenges of the 21st century. The reality is that by the end of this century in the richer countries at least, virtually everyone will have some experience of higher education. A hundred years ago only the minority were completing secondary education, while now only the minority fail to do so. There is no reason to think the same pattern will not pertain over the next century. What is being recognised here is that unless we accelerate this process, especially for those from excluded groups, we will fail to meet the global challenges of the century as inequality becomes entrenched, attitudes to the environment remain static and potential untapped.

Much of the innovation profiled in the SiS Catalyst project is based in the work of children’s universities. The European Children’s University Network (EUCU.NET)

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suffers from it is not. It is defined locally, the product of historical, economic and cultural forces. The experiences of those brought together by the SiS Catalyst show that while the challenges facing the world may be global, the solutions are to a great extent intensely local. They require the building of an ecosystem to engage children that is nuanced, flexible and sensitive to local context if it is to thrive.

What is Science?The kind of knowledge that should be accessible in the change ecosystem is defined as coming from across disciplines. The role of science is usually placed at the centre of the 21st century world. Many of the challenges are conceived as scientific ones – which is taken to mean related to physical science or technological based disciplines. One of, if not the, defining characteristic of global development has been how the laws of physical science come to saturate society via information technology. As argued above however, as important it is that children understand these laws if they are to shape the future, they must also understand the context in which these laws exist and have the tools to deal with the implications of them. This means that science is interpreted in the broadest sense, to incorporate the development of knowledge across the range of disciplines.

is a platform for members from universities, HE institutions and various other organisers of science with and for society programmes from over 40 countries. It represents several hundred projects each year and was an important partner in the development and dissemination of the results of the SiS Catalyst project.

The work of EUCU.NET and its members has provided the conceptual foundations for much of the change agent ecosystem. Children’s universities offer those from seven years of age and onwards, the opportunity to access knowledge previously unavailable to them. They remove the barriers placed around knowledge that higher education has worked hard, erroneously to construct over what is in many countries several centuries. They also challenge the barriers placed by adults on what children should know. School systems are inevitably limited in what they can offer, which is not their fault. Children are able and entitled to a broader range of knowledge which is what universities can bring. However, not all children benefit from these opportunities.

What the project has illustrated is that a common feature spanning the many countries involved is inequality in access to knowledge, education and then opportunity. But while this inequality is common, who


The Thr!e Sides of The Mo*+tainThis analogy of groups of people ascending a mountain peak from different sides, has been used within SiS Catalyst to help understand how to tackle a common challenge, by starting from alternative viewpoints. Starting points are important, and when we began to work together our differences were very apparent.

The SiS Catalyst community came from different countries, from different types of organisations, were from a range of ages and all had unique personal backgrounds. Through SiS Catalyst this community came together to climb the same mountain in a collective attempt to realise how children can be change agents for science and society.

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The science comunication agenda

The SiS Catalyst proposal drew from the range of challenges facing 21st century society to identify two drivers for change. Firstly the evolution of technology including the global connectivity and unprecedented access to knowledge and secondly the reality that children are the future, inheriting the world that we collectively leave them. We ambitiously set ourselves the task of the seeking to identify how children can be catalysts for change in the long-term solutions to the grand challenges faced by society, their future.

The three sides of our mountain: where did we start from?We used the term Children’s University’s type activities to describe the variety of informal learning activities delivered by higher education institutions, civil society organisations and museums etc. with children usually between the ages of 8 and 12 years. From around 2000, the number of these type of activities have been growing substantially and have been supported at European, national and institutional levels.

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The social inclusion

agenda

Young people as change agents

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These were the three sides to the mountain that we chose to climb:

These were three very different starting points to climb our collective mountain!

We had identified two motivations that organisations like universities chose to work with children. Simply put these activities usually have one of two very distinct and different aims; either the promotion of subject based agendas, often in STEM subjects (the science communication agenda) or as a way of targeting young people under-represented within higher education (the social inclusion agenda).

The vast majority of these Children’s University’s type activities involve children and young people as the recipients of provision, it is very unusual for these activities to be seen as having a direct impact on the institutional development of the institutions involved. However our third starting point was that of young people as change agents, how could they be directly involved with the policy and practices of the organisations involved?


The science communication agenda

- promoting the uptake andinterest in science subjects 1

The socialinclusion agenda

- educational opportunities for underrepresented groups 2

Young people as change agent

- enabling institutional change 3

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The learning of SiS CatalystA very common refrain with our learning was the concept that ‘Our similarities are much greater than our differences.’ The concept is at the heart of the SiS Catalyst learning is this growing understanding that our similarities are so much greater than our differences. For shorthand, we called this ‘Global Thinking’. This is a shared recognition that all the differences with our systems, countries, organisations, subject areas etc were manufactured by the specific culture and history of these ingredients. All of our differences were ‘man-made’ but when we started thinking about our respective worlds through the eyes of children, we very quickly began to recognise our collective consciousness - the reality that we are all one - human beings sharing this planet.

We also began to see that our education systems, both formal and informal, take our children on a learning journey which imposes these cultural and societal norms. But should this be the purpose of education? Children across the world were asked to reflect on the purpose of education, through the 20 ‘What We Recommend’ workshops. Several common themes emerged. However the most common recommendation related specifically to their desire to see more equality and fair access to education.

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The n!ed to recognise childr!n as soci,%☎l actors, as a public in th.ir own ri/0t.Within Europe there is a growing recognition that the grand societal challenges will have a better chance of being tackled it all societal actors are fully engaged in the co-construction of innovative solutions, products and services. However, whilst public engagement is becoming increasingly recognised as a fundamental key for societal development, children and young people are not recognised as a public in their own right.

The recognition of children as societal actors is the first implication of our deliberations. It is their future that we are creating now, therefore they must be recognised as stakeholders and co-creators of our shared future. We have a responsibility to find ways to include children in the development of both science and society.

I$%,rpr,%1ng t'2s "#ar+2ng:

The thr!e key me3sa/es of SiS

Catalyst*******

*******


In the words of children of Medellin, Colombia (We All Can Change the World Children’s Manifesto, April 2014): “We are the ones that will live our future, that’s why we don’t want adults to take decisions without taking us into account.”We will not know what the perspectives of children are, unless we ask them. As adults it is arrogant of us to continue to make decisions about our collective future without considering what the recipients of that future think and how we can with them co-create this future.

We only have one a/e4da: the future for a5l our childr!n a+d th.ir childr!n.The second implication of SiS Catalyst is that there is only one agenda - the survival of humanity.

How we are developing globally is currently unsustainable. We are putting the future of ALL of human life in the balance. We have to find ways of developing our science with and for the future of human kind. This means ALL of us - ALL scientists and ALL societies. This is our shared and collective agenda - all our individual agendas are tiny tributaries of this first and fundamental obligation.

The ultimate need of society is its own survival and this is what our current actions are putting into jeopardy. Children recognise this single agenda intuitively, we as adults can find it much more difficult. Involvement of the perception of children within research and innovation policy and practice automatically focuses the attention on the children’s future as that is what we are collectively co-creating.

In 2009, when the SiS Catalyst proposal was written, the expression Science in Society was being used, however by 2014 the phrase Science With and For Society has been adopted by the European Commission. This transition of thinking has been a fundamental aspect of the SiS Catalyst learning and is also directly linked to the

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concept of Responsible Research and Innovation. This concept requires that societal actors work together during the whole research and innovation process in order for research and innovation policy to be driven by the needs of society.

In SiS Catalyst we combined the three agendas; science communication, social inclusion and children as change agents and together they make an element of the Science With and For Society agenda. However we recognised that in order for science (scientists) to have a sustained two-way dialogue with society (children and young people) then the process must be one which empowers all stakeholders.

If we are going to engage with children as societal actors, then the processes involved must enable the young people to be empowered, to feel respected, to feel more confident in their own ability to make choices and decisions, in the short term but also in the future.

The me3sa/e of SiS Catalyst is pos1%1ve - not only must we chang! - WE CAN CHANGE! The changes are happening, and they are happening now. We have to embrace change rather than resist it. This is the paradigm shift needed; our ability to think differently, to think globally, to recognise our shared humanity to lose our fear of change. Listening to children (and acting upon this) is the quickest way for us to think differently. Children intuitively think without judgement, with curiosity and fundamentally ethically and authentically

This requires us to be open in our thinking and to remember ourselves what it is like to think like a child, free from the judgements that we have absorbed throughout our lifetime, being curious and excited by the prospect of change but fundamentally thinking ethically and trusting our intuition what is right and what is wrong and recognising that authenticity.

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The Childr!n As Chang! Ag!$%&Ecosy&%,m

Achieving the scale of the transformation that is necessary to enable children to drive change is not under-estimated. It requires in itself a series of changes across different levels, in different groups driven by operational and strategic action. The SiS Catalyst project is only the first steps in really understanding the ecosystem that could lay the basis for such change. The project has attempted to take these steps by attempting to take a systematic approach to how to turn the ‘children as change agents’ ethos into action. It has tried to answer a set of fundamental questions that needs to addressed if cultural or structural transformation is to become a reality. We have divided the children as change agents ecosystem into four sections.


This out"2nes what t'2s chang! a/ent ecosy&%,m l)oks like:

Tools of system improvement

SIS Catalyste-Learning

coursesPeer Mentoring

Diversity andInclusion Map

Youngpeople

and students

owningchange

How to listento and empower

children

What we recommendworkshops

Engaging students

Writing ethically

Catalyst case studies

The AHA album

How do you shape and

change practice

Engaging theacademic

community

Changingpolicy makers

The SIS Catalystdeclarations

booklet How doyou shape

andchange policy?

What are the t)ols of sy&%,m improvem#+t ?

Can young p!ople a+d &%6d!nts own chang! ?

How do you shap! a+d chang! p7✄cti9e ?

How do you shap! a+d chang! policy ?

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/elearning-courses

What are the t)ols of sy&%,m improvem#+t?SiS Catalyst E-Learning CoursesLearning does not occur ‘naturally’ within educational spaces. Without concerted effort the focus on delivering change can overtake the capacity to undertake the learning required to facilitate that change. The SiS Catalyst project recognized this

and developed 3 separate E-learning courses for the change agency community. E-learning is heralded as one way of overcoming this learning conundrum. By being flexible and accessible, they can fit around the range of commitments that pull educators away from their own education. The project developed E-learning courses in three different areas. The topics selected aimed to address the key areas and audience for the SiS Catalyst project. The aim was also to reach the wider audience within the education community.

Capacity buildingMany organisations working to engage children in new and challenging ways face their own challenges, often in maximising impact with limited resources. How they manage the information and knowledge they have within the organisation is crucial. This knowledge is not mainly a physical resource in papers and reports etc. but the skills, expertise and experience of the organisation itself. The course offers interactive tools that organisations can apply to their own contexts to enable them to build their capacity for change.

Working EthicallyAn aim of the SiS catalyst project was to develop ways of embedding ethical practice into the fabric of work with children. Many organisations and practitioners in the field are acutely aware they are engaged in a sensitive area. The course gives them the opportunity to reflect on that underpinned by insights from the field of ethics. In particular, it looks to help them navigate that line between protectionism and paternalism. How can we be mindful of the vulnerabilities of children, yet at the same time look to empower them?

Building Creative Web Sites for ChildrenThis E-learning course deals with the topic of creating specialised web sites where the target audience is children. The design of such websites should be in accordance with the preferences, abilities, and capacity to manage information, needs, interests and searching habits of young people, as well as with their cognitive and motoric skills. The first part of the course covers the state of the art analysis in the field of web site development for children and the later chapters contain practical tips, examples of best practices and consideration of the ethical issues involved.

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Listening and Empowering:Children and Young People in Science in Society ActivitiesThis E-learning course is based on the idea that listening to and empowering children is a duty and an opportunity for anyone involved in science with and for young people. The guide starts with a short theoretical background and includes several practical tools, which explain how to empower children in their relationship with science. They aim to enable young people to progress toward a sense of ownership using their own motivations to achieve empowerment.

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/peer-mentoring24

P!er M!ntoringHarnessing the power of the networks is what will take the children as change agency movement forward beyond the SiS Catalyst project. Peer mentoring was the method by which this power was utilised to both extend and enrich the network under SiS Catalyst, as well as being perhaps the major vehicle for innovation in the project. Peer mentoring on a global scale is a very powerful phenomenon. It enables partners to

explore the work implemented by their peer in a different region, country and culture. Through the peer mentoring exchanges a pair of associates meets at each other’s institution to learn from the ‘Other’, and reflect upon the ‘Self’. The Mentoring Associate Programme enabled a group of 36 science organisations, universities, museums and other intermediaries in science communication to learn from each other across the whole terrain of the ‘children as change agency’ ecosystem covering: governance and strategic alignment, programme development and social inclusion.

The learning of the peer mentoring work occurred on an individual level. This recognition of the importance of the small things is a fundamental aspect of social transformation. And the profundity of learning can be difficult to analyse – while an organisation might consider their learning to be small – the very same learning could be transformative from the prospective of the entire system. It is the combination of these small things, these details, that collectively are the elements of change.

The most common refrain within the learning of the peer mentors was ‘Our similarities are much greater than our differences.’

The External Evaluator of SiS Catalyst commented on the value of contextual learning as a consequence of peer mentoring:

Learning at a deep level also depended on the level of detail and on the authenticity of the context: visiting and seeing fellow participants operate in the authentic situation of their own contexts of practice was a fundamental aspect in this regard. The mutual character of the learning happening in this fashion involves both the guest experiencing immersion in the authentic context of practice and the host being fostered to reflect on their habits of practice through the lens of an external, novel perspective observing it.

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However, as organic as the peer mentoring experience can be for benefits to be realised there also has to be structure. Below shows the key building blocks in making mutual learning through mentoring happen:

Building Blo9ks of P!er M!ntoring

Di3sem2n☎%1on of "#ar+2ng beyo4d

partn!rs to the network

C"#ar recipro:✄l

agr!em#+ts

betw!en

m#+toring

partn!rs

F2na4cial su;port for exchang!

vis1%&

Goalori!nted

action p"✄ns

Ac!ntral

co-ord2nating hub

26 for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/peer-mentoring

A c!ntralco-ord2nating

hub

F2na4cial su;port for exchang!

vis1%&

Goalori!nted

action p"✄ns

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C"#ar recipro:✄l agr!em#+ts betw!en m#+toring partn!rs

Di3sem2n☎%1on of "#ar+2ng beyo4d

partn!rs to the network

28 for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/peer-mentoring

The Mentoring Associate programme took the partners into a much more profound learning opportunity than networking at a conference. Hosting a visit and participating in a visit provided the time for individual and shared reflection, which enabled participants to look at their own work through new eyes. This depth of learning was a significant feature of the Mentoring Associates programme.

The mobilisation of this mutual learning occurred at three different levels; at the individual level, the institutional level and within the SiS Catalyst consortium. This learning was captured within reports etc. but it must be recognised that this is only the tip of the iceberg of the amount of learning which actually occurred. In many cases the learning and the transformation is hard to be named while in the process, but evident afterwards. However, the dialogue between partners and associates was a very fundamental aspect of this learning which moved the individuals and the organisations forward in terms of their thinking.

‘Learning occurs at various levels ‘All the actors involved in this Partnership have gone through strong learning process which allowed them to implement critical thinking and systems comparisons on various levels.’ ConSol & EEIU, Ethiopia - SiS Catalyst MAs Final Report.

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for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/dimap30 31

The Diversity and Inclusion Map aims to assist organisations in refining and improving the essential aspects of their work:

the impact they aim to achieve;the str☎%,gic embe<ding of pro/rams a+d th.ir su&%☎2nability;c)op!r☎%1on, networking a+d co(mu+2c☎%1on ski5ls;!nga/em#+t w1%' tar/et groups a+d i4clusiv!ne3s;evalu☎%1on a+d mon1%=ring !fforts.

The Div!rsity a+d I4clusion MapCritical assessment and systematic commitment to organisational self-improvement are part of raising the status and quality of children as change agency work. The danger is that learning which occurs predominantly outside the compulsory space is perceived as ephemeral. Unless those leading such work are willing and able to critically assess their own practice then is perception will not be addressed.

The SiS Catalyst project developed a self-assessment tool in the form of a Diversity & Inclusion map for organizations and practitioners who are involved in science engagement programs with children. It was produced by ECHO, Expertise Center for Diversity Policy, The Netherlands.

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The map is based on a 4 stage model as shown below

Sta/e 1 : Assess impact through the self assessment questionnaire.

Sta/e 3 :Translate, prioritise and put what had been learnt into action using the planning tool and a self-support manual which contains a range of tips and tricks and references to interesting literature with regard to creating a more safe and inclusive environment for children and staff.

Embed evaluation of the changes implemented as part of the self-assessment process. The Diversity and Inclusion Map includes examples of evaluation tools that can be used at this point.Sta/e 4 :

Sta/e 2 :Reflect on the results and use the benchmarking tool to enable an in-depth comparison with other programmes and organisations across the EU

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/dimap 33

Can young p!ople a+d &%6d!ntsown chang!?How to listen to and empower childrenListening to, and empowering young people is a duty when developing science for and with young people. However it is also an opportunity. This is a key idea in the children as change agency model. Building ways to engage children in different

ways is a responsibility, both in the context of obligations to legal frameworks, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 12, and if we are to meet the global challenges of the 21st century outlined above. It is also, a way in which professionals working with children empower themselves in their own work. By empowering children in their relationship with expert knowledge anyone that is brave enough to truly listen to children reaps benefits at individual, institutional and scientific level. But to make this journey from science to children, to science with and for children requires those working ‘hands on’ in direct contact with young people to be supported. The SiS Catalyst produced a guide targeted at three categories of professionals who are ‘the change makers’ on the day to day level:

The guide was produced by Traces, Association Paris Montagne, Sissa Medialab and a consultant from Brazil, Raul Araujo (14). It comprised several modules. These included a theoretical framework and practical applications and training activities, for example an illustrated card deck offering a series of activities to tackle children’s rights issues in science communication practice.

From science to empowermentCommunicating in science is a matter of recreating a meaning for scientific knowledge in a context different from the one in which it was produced. This module contains exercises and principles to support scientists in communicating with children in empowering and engaging ways.

34 for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/listen-empower

Sci!nce in society activ1%1es

organis!rs of FACILITATORS of Sci!ntists involved in

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From engagement to governanceEducators, museum explainers, teachers… are “listening to” the children all the time. It is a different challenge to include children in the governance of a project or enable them to contribute meaningfully to the decisions regarding an institution’s life. This module looks at methods of integrating children into how organisations are managed and led.

Evaluating participationSelf-reflection is the core of change-agency work. This module is based around the work of Laura Lundy (15) This model is shown below:

It represents the four dimensions around which the implementation of the Article 12 of the UN convention on the right of the Child – stating that children’s views should be taken into account in any decision affecting them - can be made real in practice: space, voice, audience and influence.

Li&%,n2+g a+d Empow!ring Young People

Spa9eSafe and inclusive

opportunity to form and express a

view

Voi9eFacilitated to express

views freely in medium of choice

Views are expre3sedviews are

giv!n due w.ightInflu!nceThe view must be

acted upon

AudI!nceThe view must be

listened to

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“Play your rights”Underpinning the practical techniques to listen and empower children there has to be a philosophical base. This module is based on Paulo Freire’s ideas of education in which teacher and student are subject of the action of learning. It consists of a set of exercises – collected in a card deck, which deconstruct some of the deep-rooted assumptions regarding the adult-student relationship. This process encourages practitioners to question what education is, and encourages them to see it as a process of collective and continuous formation.

The contribution of the SiS Catalyst project here is not to offer a rigid blueprint of training modules that should be replicated the world over. It is to present a set of flexible tools that practitioners in different contexts and countries can draw upon in their own way to support their own change journey, and that of the students they work with.

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/listen-empower 37

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Engaging &%6d!ntsStudent engagement is a vital part of the change agency ecosystem. When students become involved in science communication projects it is a win-win situation, where all participants involve gain from the experience. The students themselves gain vital experience, skills and networks, all essential additions to their CV. The young people will meet role model and interact with people who are generational go-

betweens. The project benefits from the wealth of knowledge and energy the students can bring, whilst also being able to give an accurate picture of what higher education is at this exact moment. SiS Catalyst made it possible for twelve students to work on eight projects in Europe (Austria, UK, The Netherlands), Africa (Ethiopia), South America (Colombia) and North America (USA).

Several key points to orientate this work in the future emergedfrom the SiS Catalyst experience:

Students need to be adequately rewarded for their time and energy. This can be in form of payment, course credits or even positive experiences that will boost their CVs. If you have not got the resources to pay them, then it is vital to ensure that the amount of time and energy that they invest is proportionally rewarded.

Working over the long term: In order for this form of engagement to be useful, the student needs to be engaged in meaningful, complicated work. Students must be given ownership of some part of a project, so that when they finish they can lay claim to an exact piece of work they have done. The SiS Catalyst guidelines for student interns explores internships in more details, and gives examples of work/pilot internships undertaken by SiS Catalyst. The key aim here is the ‘co-production’ of knowledge with student and professional developing work together.

Working over the shorter term: At the other end of the scale there are much shorter one-off workshops that students can run. These take up little time (2-3 hours of training and 2-3 hours working in a school for example) yet give the student valuable experience. It also allows students to take part in as many sessions as they are able to, without making unfair demands on their time.

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/engaging-students 39

‘What is Sci!nce?’‘What is Science?’ is a self-contained workshop project, designed to be easily set up by any institution or organisation that works with students. It does not require much in the way of resources and can be delivered for practically nothing to any number of primary schools. It is a project that allows students to get involved as much or as little as their time and inclination allows, whilst still delivering a high impact workshop to the 10-12 year

olds it is aimed at.

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The ‘What we reco(m!nd’ workshopsThe most powerful mechanism by which children can be empowered is by enabling their voice to influence the policies and activities that affect them. The SiS Catalyst Project designed and implemented a series of workshops held in 20 different countries during 2014. What We

Recommend: The voices and opinions of young people provided the opportunity for groups of 10 to 16-year-olds to reflect on education and to make recommendations on different aspects of Science and Society and access to knowledge. The What We Recommend workshops enabled the young people to consider and learn about their own decision-making. Young people were able to gain a greater understanding regarding how they choose between options. They are also able to develop a deeper comprehension about choices that they are making in their own lives both now and in the future.

How you empower children in this way though has to be done carefully. In the children as change agents model this process has a number of key features:

Ch)ose an a;propri☎%, a+d a6%'!ntic to;ic This has to be a real exercise that has relevance to both the organisation facilitating it and the children participating. Organisations have to be honest before they enter this process with themselves and consider: why would your organisation wish to have a dialogue with young people? What are the benefits to your organisation?

Id!ntify a purp)seThe outcomes have to be clear to all before the process begins. Once the rational is identified, the outcomes have to be ones that are tangible. The aim is to formulate recommendations, not just have a nice discussion that at best is interesting but at worse may be a cosmetic exercise that only damages relationships with young people.

Acknowled/e lim2t☎%1ons – but don’t restrict reco(m!nd☎%1onsAt the outset, it is crucial to be clear to young people what could emerge from the session and what the real limits are. However, at the same time the opportunity to ‘think big’ is an essential first step. It is this freedom which brings innovation.

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/wwr 41

Cre☎%, a safe spa9e for d!b☎%, a+d discu3sionShow the young people that this is a safe place where their views and opinions are valued by collectively setting and agreeing on the rules so that children are empowered and secure. This provides the foundations for real discussion.

Stimul☎%, cre☎%1ve t'2nkingInteractive, group exercises are fundamental to these workshops but there is no set rubric here. It is also important that the facilitator leaves enough space in the session for the young people to shape it. This is not a lesson or a lecture.

Equity in Edu:✄tion‘We recommend that the minimum income of families should be suitable for their educational needs.’

Children’s University of MSA University October University, Egypt

‘Grade impact should be eliminated in matriculation as it creates inequalities between public and private school students.’

Informal Education - coçukistanbul, Istanbul, Turkey

‘I think that all children should be educated and go to school [...] so that they can […] have a place in the world.’

SISSA Medialab Trieste, Italy

‘Proper availability of necessary resources; water, books and notebooks, good teachers, benches in schools, all schools should have a good science laboratory, good computers and internet facilities in schools, financial help for studies.’

St Xavier’s College, Gujarat, India

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Lear+2ng in a safe !nvironm#+t &Be>t!r r."✄tionship w1%' teach!rs

‘Our main recommendation is to fight against stereotypes and discrimination; we have realised that these [school books] are often vehicles for discrimination and sometimes show a wrong image of society. We recommend having commissions that would set criteria for the books, and then check whether those criteria are respected. We believe that involving young people in making their own learning tools would allow raising young people’s consciousness and reduce stereotypes.’

Association Paris-Montagne, Paris, France

‘Teachers should not have too high or too low expectations towards their students’.

Junior Academy, ECHO, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Preparing for the world aft!r sch)ol & making"#ar+2ng more p7✄cti:✄l

‘Don’t just base grades on test scores but also on projects, volunteering and internships anything that can make difference.’

Team Strength, Detroit, USA

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/wwr 43

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How do you shap!a+d chang!p7✄cti9e?

The AHA - AlbumA basic objective in the SiS Catalyst project was to encourage more science and research organizations to recognize young people as a group with whom you can and should, have dialogue with. Fundamental to this is equipping young people to be able not just to articulate their experiences through mechanisms - such as bespoke sessions like ‘What we recommend?’ but to capture these throughout the learning journey. Tools are needed that enable young people to build their own narrative of success that then gives substance to the dialogue they can then have with institutions. This in particular refers to Children’s University - type activities and the various offers therein, but is not limited to them, but may be applied to all environments where informal learning can occur. Such tools need to be able to recognize individual developments and in particular ‘non-formal’ learning experiences. The ‘AHA-Album’ is a paper based booklet designed in an attractive, visual way suitable for children aged between 7-13 years old. It aims to capture those ‘A - ha’ moments when children realize change in both what they understand and what they know. They are also invited to describe the actors, institutions or environments who helped create these moments through their learning journey.

Children are encouraged to share this information with peers, relatives and also the persons organizing the programmes. This can be done either in a direct and personal way by exchanging the gathered information and/or passing back the entire album to the issuing organization. Alternatively a website was built (www.aha-album.net) which collects institutions or environments which appeared relevant to children as places of informal learning and moments of sudden inspiration. Consequently, the website can capture these ‘A - ha’ moments and contribute to the development of the collective narrative of children led change.

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/aha 45

Capturing su?ce3s a+d the AHA-Album There are several characteristics key to the development of a tool like the A-HA Album:

The tool has to be ‘low threshold’. It has to be paper-based and easy to use, and something that children want to own and develop rather than something they have to do.

It still needs to be able to accumulate data however. Many programmes such as those associated with the SiS Catalyst project operate alongside compulsory learning (but they lack strong data on the progress of their learners and the impact they are having).

It should be created in both a ‘bottom up’ fashion in consultation with children, but also have reference to ‘top down’ concerns. If the tool is to be used to support the evidence base regarding the impact of change agency work then it has to be designed in such a way that will enable this data to be captured.

46 for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/aha

The AHA-Album is designed in accordance with these principles. All parties who are interested in including the AHA-album into their local science engagement and outreach programs are can contact the European Children’s Universities Network (EUCU.NET). If you want to learn more about the various ways of introducing the AHA-album into local action, please see www.aha-album.net.

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Chang! in Action – the Catalyst Case Studies The core of the SiS Catalyst project was the different ‘case studies’ of children as change agency in action. These eight projects acted as living test-beds of how to take work with children in different and contrasting ways. The full background to each of these organisations, their work

with the SiS Catalyst Project and their ongoing work can be found at www.archive.siscatalyst.eu.

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/case-studies 49

There were a series of messages for policymakers coming out of the Change in Action part of the SiS Catalyst project:

Create critical mass if you want innovation and learning to occur.

Embrace diversity in how learning is delivered. The aim is not to find ‘the best’ programme. There will not be one optimum approach.

Incentivise partnership between government funded agencies (in particular schools) and those working in change agency. The better outcomes from this aspect of the Catalyst project came from new partnerships across sectors.

Accept unexpected outcomes. Some of the most positive changes were ones that the organisations did not expect.

Finally, recognize the extent of challenge. In the case of the SiS Catalyst project most of the organisations attempted to reach out to new groups of learners: which in the majority of cases meant those from groups experiencing some form of social marginalisation. If a project/organisation is not explicitly created to target such groups then to do so is a major challenge. There is a very powerful message emerging from the core of the Catalyst project:

If you create space in which children can innovate, combined with the support to help them do so, then they can change what they do, how they do it and who benefits.

Chang! in Action

University of Innsbruck, Austria: a university taking

SiS activities to children in a rural

context.

University of Liverpool, UK: a university taking SiS activities to

children through schools.Paris - Montagne,

France: delivering SiS activities for

children through Festivals.

KinderburoUniversitat Wien/University

of Vienna, Austria: engaging children in SiS activities in a

university

Zoom Children’s Museum, Austria:

museum based delivery of SiS activities for

childrenSISSA Medialab, Italy: delivering SiS activities for

children through Media.

Arena Theater Bratislava, Slovakia:

SiS activities for children delivered in

a theatre.

Eberhard KarlsUniversitat

Tubingen, Germany: a university taking SiS activities to children

in anurban context

for more info visit www.eucu.net/video/50 51

All children’s universities are different. They are unique because all higher education institutions are different and all children are individuals. However for all their differences Children’s University’s are intrinsically the same - an opportunity for dialogue between young people and a higher education institution.

For many people it is easier to see the benefits to the young people, but a dialogue is a conversation between two or more parties and Children’s Universities can provide huge educational opportunities for

the institution as well as for the children.

An animated introduction to the idea of Children’s Universities was produced by the Kinderbüro Universität Wien (Vienna University Children’s Office) for the European Children’s Universities Network and SiS Catalyst.

http://www.eucu.net/video/

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Working Et'2?a@5yEducation, ethics and the ‘good society’At both the philosophical and practical level ‘children as change agents’ looks to embed an ethical radar into work with young people. The question of the purposes of education and the very society that we wish to build through it are ethical ones. Is it right to try and prepare children for a society that is unsustainable and a future that they have to

inhabit but cannot shape? Attempting to place children as societal actors rather than societal subjects, is itself an ethical decision which carries with it a vision of the good or just society. The SiS Catalyst Project created a space where practitioners were able to develop their own visions for education, and use the frame of ethical consideration to help them do this. In itself this is a message coming from the project. While practitioners may focus their energies on delivering activities for children, they are not and should not be divorced from the broader issues that shape their everyday work. They need the space to be able to connect this work with such issues for it to have meaning to children and themselves.

Ethics in practice Working ethically is not just an issue of reflection, it can permeate throughout the day to day decisions that those working with young people. The SiS Catalyst project developed 2 brief guides to assist in this endeavour. They are suitably generic to apply across contexts.

Working w1%' Childr!nThis guide focused on a number of key points:

Balancing participation and protection:Children are emotionally vulnerable. We want them to play active roles in society but this must be done so as to protect them at the same time.

Targeting positively:Identifying those from excluded groups and focusing on them specifically is essential if inequalities are to be addressed but this means others will be left out. There needs to be clear, context based rationales for how and why different groups are targeted.

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/ethics 53

Avoiding alienation and stigmatisation:When targeting does occur it has to be done in such a way that accentuates the positive nature of identity rather than stigmatising a group as ‘poor’ or ‘needy’.

Creating realistic expectations:Science is hard work, can be dull and it takes commitment to see results in the field. In the desire to make science appear interesting these realities should not be forgotten.

Informed consent and informed assent:The appropriate information and permission must always be sought to allow children to opt in or out of, or be opted in or out of any activity.

Working w1%' Stud!ntsMaking recruitment equal:Ensure that entry procedures into study opportunities are actively open to all social groups.This means more than just having no legal barriers in place, but reaching out to diverse groups.

Compensating students:It is essential that students are not seen as ‘free or cheap labour’ to work on particular projects with children for example.

Dialogue in teaching and learning:The construction of curriculum should be a mutual process that sees both teacher and student in a reciprocal relationship of learning and respect.

Ensuring particular needs are met:Student with disabilities, older students or those with specific caring responsibilitiesin the home will have distinct needs. Meeting them is a duty not an option.

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How do you shap! a+dchang! policy?The SiS Catalyst Declarations BookletEssential to advocating for change is developing techniques to distill the views of the community or group into succinct messages for policymakers that include clear messages of

what needs to be done and how, with realistic, achievable ways of realizing change. The aim of the SiS catalyst approach was to raise awareness regarding engaging with children in a non-traditional dialogue with higher education establishments and other science organisations. A series of ‘declarations’ was developed via different consultative techniques. All four declarations reflected the particular overall topics of the annual conferences delivered through the project by Vienna University Children’s Office.

The declaration were intended to support and be one element within a “pan-European mutual agreement process” and a vehicle to foster a common understanding of children as partners in the development of policies at the European level.

The declarations themselves are summarized in the boxes below.

How they w!re prepared Several different techniques were used to prepare the declarations.

The full day moderated workshop:In Ankara experts and practitioners reflected on a pre-arranged base structure of the declarations which were thoroughly analyzed and considered before achieving consent on a final version.

The online method:In Porto, initial input to form part of a final declaration was set up in a collaborative online document and all conference participants were invited to comment, add, re-arrange orders etc. so that eventually a mutually developed version of the declaration was produced.

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/declarations 55

A classical “low-tech” procedure:Was applied during the shaping of the Lodz-Declaration. A huge poster wall was set up with building blocks of a draft declaration, where all conference participants could write on or draw on their comments, thoughts, disagreements – and stand in front of it to debate phrasing or emphases with other participants.

A ‘state of the art’ synopsis:The Vienna-Declaration was produced by an experts group formed by project partners deliberately considering the subject from their particular perspectives and agreeing on a final version after numerous meetings and online consultations.

The importa4ce of the dec"✄r☎%1onsAll declarations were placed online for sharing and endorsing– either as an individual, or as an institution. It was difficult to get as broad an ownership of the declarations as would have been desirable. Practitioners can find it difficult “to speak in the name of an institution”. University managers and other decision/policy makers can doubt the added value of just endorsing a declaration. These challenges show again that achieving change requires coordinated effort across a range of areas. Practitioners and managers both need other forms of support and engagement alongside something like the declarations to give them the legitimacy to endorse them.

The SiS catalyst experience provides important pointers to the need to address this challenge despite the difficulties associated with it. The power of belief in the rights of children and the imperative of overcoming social injustice provides the energy that drives forward those across the world who subscribe to the change agency agenda. However, this belief is not shared by everyone. There has to be ways of engaging those who are not ‘bought in’ to the agenda to the same extent or not at all. The declaration approach is one way of trying to do this, whilst at the same time as the Catalyst experience has shown, strengthening practice.

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Ankara DeclarationFrom the earliest age possible, ALL children should have the chance to be in touch with academic thinking, to engage with scientists, artists, practitioners, researchers, students and research institutions. Children and young people are particularly open-minded and creative and are the best witnesses of their hopes, as well as their difficulties. They are the catalysts for change; it is time for all of us to learn from them, and with them.

Porto DeclarationICTs have the potential to make knowledge about science much more accessible. However, we must consider the ethical issues they raise, the implications they have for the rights of the child, how children and young people can use ICTs safely and digital literacies. We must also consider equality of access, for while digital access will foster opportunities, digital gaps will contribute to disadvantage.

Lodz DeclarationChildren shall be encouraged to understand the importance of co-operation and persistence: That scientific progress owes more to collective work rather than lonely genius and to long, hard slog rather than sudden brilliant ideas. To achieve a responsible and reflective approach, those who organize and deliver science in society programs for children and young people require specific skills in discussing controversial and difficult topics effectively. They need targeted training to ensure they are able to empower young participants to engage with challenging ideas, to listen to the views of others and share their own in a safe, respectful and supportive environment. They also need to be aware of the importance of presenting a diversity of backgrounds and views in discussions, for it is imperative that children and young people do not come to see science as the sole preserve of a single or elite group.

Vienna DeclarationHigher education institutions worldwide have a responsibility to contribute to greater equality, social mobility and well-being in their societies. We urge them to recognise and foster the dreams and aspirations of children for higher education as early as possible. This especially applies to children from groups currently under-represented among their students and staff, i.e. “locally defined minorities” (LDM). All human beings are potentially able to excel in environments that allow them to prosper. Creating these environments requires innovation in academic teaching and learning and in public engagement. Higher education institutions that commit this change will also reap internal benefits through organizational learning. Opportunities for systemic change leading to more inclusive higher education will be unleashed through Children’s Universities and other new approaches.

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/declarations 57

The full text of all four declarations was compiled in a printed booklet. It is available via the European Children’s Universities Network (EUCU.NET). It can serve as a powerful vehicle when handed over to stakeholders, decision makers, experts and practitioners as a message to share - and to show and seek commitment. For more info about how to get copies of the Declarations Booklet, please see www.eucu.net.

58 for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/crossing-agendas

Cro3sing sci!nce in society a+d social i4clusion a/e4das: Engaging the academ2c co(munity

Engagement with the academic community is a fundamental part of engaging children in the processes of change. While there may be dispute regarding the extent to which academics, particularly in the field of science, are themselves marginalised from the policy process they remain the architects of the evidence base and the shapers of knowledge. While it differs much across countries (and within them) they also retain significant autonomy within higher education enabling them to structure how HE engages with all young people, and particularly those from marginalized groups or different forms of minority.

The SiS Catalyst project from the outset ensured that the academic community were part of the change ecosystem. The project produced a series of reflective papers (see bibliography) and a collection of these was collected in a book: Merzagora M, Mignan V, Rodari P (Eds) Listening and empowering: Crossing the social inclusion and the science in society agendas in science communication activities involving young people. SISSA Medialab (2014) (16).

The field of ‘science communication’ was where the project devoted its energies. The objective was to develop and disseminate approaches to science communication which include children as protagonists in the communication process, embody within the socially inclusive work and practice which empowers children.

The ‘Listening and Empowering’ book confronts some of the assumptions embedded in the relationship that children have with science and those who communicate it. It argues that while children are one of the main target groups for the communication of science, they are positioned as recipients of knowledge excluded from the dialogic approach that aims to ensure that scientists listen and have a dialogue with the public, or excluded altogether from science by their economic or social backgrounds. In this sense, the book directly addresses the interest of crossing the science communication and the social inclusion agendas. It brings together examples of how to confront this exclusion by providing spaces where dialogue with children can be developed, and how these spaces can be used to open up the potential for institutional changes. It encompasses three parts:

‘When we talk about science we are talking about the future, thus about something that affects the child. In this context, listening to children and empowering them is not just a choice, but an obligation for all states who signed the UN convention on the rights of the child. Indeed, article 12 states that we “shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child”. Which links do or shall exist between these fundamental principles endorsed by our governments and science communication activities addressing children?’

M. Merzagora and T. Jenkins (2013), “Listening and empowering:children and science communication”, JCOM 12(03): C01 (17)

The cha5l!ng!s a+d the o;portun1%1es of le>ting childr!n have th.ir say

Soci☎@5y i4clusive sci!nce co(mu+2c☎%1on

T7✄in2+g a+d p7✄cti9e in "2st!ning a+d empow!ring

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Convi4cing Policy Mak!rsMaking collective impact happenThe children as change agents agenda is an unashamedly ambitious one. It requires fundamental change, not the tinkering around at the edges that characterises much of what passes for educational reform. But to achieve this change takes a whole series of smaller steps. There is no big bang solution. The SiS Catalyst policy seminar series was an

attempt to develop a model that could move us along the road of change. The aim was to bring policy-makers together with a range of other stakeholders to develop a shared agenda. The thread running through the ecosystem that SIS catalyst laid the foundations for was that impact can only be achieved collectively and this requires a shared agenda to work from. The policy seminars were an explicit attempt to build this agenda at the strategic level.

How to deliver policy seminarsSiS Catalyst delivered policy seminars in 8 different countries testing different ways to bring stakeholders together, in particular implementing seminars as stand-alone events or as an annex to other bigger events.

Type of eventThe smaller and more targeted stand-alone events were more successful. Mixed but focused participant groups in smaller rather than bigger events allowed better opportunities for reflection, the building of trust and the exploration of more delicate issues.

Length of eventThese were half-day to a day-long events where several stakeholder groups were participating alongside with policy makers.

A flexible agendaThe best agenda provides short input presentations with sufficient space to elaborate and discuss the input.

A clear messageThis has to be sensitive to the audience but most importantly everyone must understand it. Why are you doing this? What do you want to achieve? Who do you want to influence? What do you want them to do? And finally how does it fit with your overall strategy for policy influence?

for more info visit www.siscatalyst.eu/policy 61

Select the audience carefullyThe SiS Catalyst project developed a concept of ‘key players’. They are those responsible for change. Two types of key players were identified: enabling key players and hands-on key players. Enabling key players are the one who facilitate or block change, while hands-on key players are making things happen locally. Both types of key players are needed to implement change and both groups should be present at policy seminars.

Invest the timeThese events need careful crafting and attention to the details of the agenda, the location and the invitation list are crucial. For these events to be worthwhile there must be appropriate staffing resources and expertise devoted their organisation and delivery. There is no quick and easy route to influence here.

Making change happen in Egypt The Egyptian policy seminar led to amazing developments: According to the Egyptian co-

host the event “made a significant impact and created a high interest of policy makers who

participated”. As a result of this interest several follow-up meetings took place and the President

of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology announced to fund another 10 children

universities. This support provided by ASRT and the government of Egypt is the first of its kind to

support informal science education.

The Pri4cip"#s of Chang! Ag!4cyThe attempt to construct a children as change agency eco-system was a wide ranging exercise. It was only made possible by significant funding from European Commission. It is likely that across the world other changemakers will be working in their own specific contexts and with diverse levels of funding building on contrasting foundations. What then are the principles that have emerged from the SiS Catalyst project that those across the world can apply to their work as they build their own ecosystems?

The importa4ce of a shared a+d global a/e4daThe work that has emerged from the SiS Catalyst project embraces a wide range of themes. However, it is underpinned by the goal of creating a shared and global agenda. You cannot compel young people, teachers or politicians to make children societal actors. You have to craft an agenda that enables disparate actors to find something in change agency that meets their existing goals.

Cre☎%1ng mutu☎@5y r.inforcing activ1%1esBreadth of activity in any ecosystem is good but these activities must support each other. There needs to be ‘organic design’, where there is space for creativity but not chaos. Policy seminars should build on academic work, which informs training that then shapes practice.

B.ing fear@e3s a+d taking risksAsking permission is one of the greatest barriers to innovation. We are not advocating anarchy (!), but unless the possibility that something will fail is allowed there cannot be innovation. Not every aspect of the SiS Catalyst project was a runaway success. It was from these aspects though that we may have learned the most.

The n!ed for backbone organis☎%1onsThere has to be some institutional commitment to act as a platform for new activity to take place. Stability allows the kind of risk-taking described above. The University of Liverpool and EUCU.NET provided this backbone for the SiS Catalyst project.


K!ep co4nected throu/0 co$%14u)*s co(mu+2c☎%1on What has not featured in this book is the role of the central team and the European Access Network (EAN) as the communications/dissemination lead for this project. Problems in communication are the greatest barrier to the success of complex change projects. But it does not happen on its own. Dedicated investment in a communication strategy and its delivery is a pre-requisite.

Own the naAr☎%1ve of su?ce3sWhat constitutes success in any public policy arena is contested. Too often those trying to deliver change defer where defining success is concerned to policymakers. It is bad strategy to be blind to what policymakers want, but equally the ‘story’ needs to be told by those who are in it. The ‘What we recommend workshops’ gave a glimpse of a different narrative.

L)ok for the ri/0t moneyFunding alone will not make better public policy outcomes. It is easy to get sucked into chasing money and lose any idea of why

you are chasing it, but without it change is unlikely. SiS Catalyst benefitted from the ‘right’ money – it was allocated flexibly and as argued above there was a shared agenda between funder and fundee. Fight for funding aggressively – but ensure you are fighting the right battles.

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Genuinely listening to children includes empowering children’s autonomy in order that they can make the most informed choices about their present reality and their future. Teachers and those working directly with children must be supported to engage with young people in a way that empowers them and if necessary receive appropriate training.

The evolving technology, global connectivity and unprecedented access to knowledge will require new educational systems. Children need to be actively involved in the development of these. What We Recommend type consultation events should form a mandatory element of public policy design processes.

Unlocking the full potential of all children requires identifying locally defined minorities: recognising that inequalities exist and are deeply rooted within society and


The 7 Steps for chang!The SiS Catalyst Project was truly the mass learning experience envisaged by the European Commission when they funded this project. But it is only a first step. To confront the 21st Century Dilemma and unlock the power of children to meet the challenges of the next century then a number of things need to happen, and happen quickly. The SiS Catalyst Project focused on the ‘informal’ education sector. It is argued here this is the space where innovation can be developed which can then change how the ‘formal’ sector works and what the boundaries between these two sectors are. How we unlock these changes are summarised in our 7 steps for change.

Children have rights and adults need to engage with them in order to include their voices and opinions in decisions about both the present and the future. Schools and teachers must ensure that all curriculum must go through a mandatory process of engagement and consultation with children and young people before it is delivered in the classroom.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

scientific communities, and by individuals and organisations taking responsibility for change. The public funding of learning and teaching providers should be directly linked to the identification of the composition of the social background of student populations, and the active commitment of institutions to the promotion of greater equity in the composition of these populations.

In order for science education to be a means to make change happen the curiosity, interest and desire of children needs to be recognised from the earliest age, and cherished through the process of their learning. Governments need to make long term, ring-fenced investment in both formal, and particularly informal learning provision which fosters the self belief and resilience required to enable young people to take ownership of their own learning journey.

Engaging with children provides an opportunity to hear authentic voices and opinions which are less corrupted by society and freer from adult fears. However whilst the individual child should be acknowledged

and given status, they cannot be seen to represent all children.Governments and public institutions must develop ‘children as change agents’ strategies which enable an emancipatory dialogue between young people as voices of the future and policy makers as the decision makers of today.

Key players have the responsibility of ensuring that they include the voices and opinions of children within their own sphere of influence, locally, nationally and beyond.Networks should be established and supported at both national/international levels to enable key players to develop their capacity to understand their sphere of influence and their potential to enhance the role that children play as change agents in 21st century society.

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Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Co4clusionThe ideas contained within Children as Change Agents for Science and Society are a first attempt to find practical ways to include children as societal actors in the solutions of the grand challenges that we collectively face.

The funding from the European Commission gave the SiS Catalyst consortium the gift of time, for which we are very grateful. It was a unique opportunity for a large group of us, from very different backgrounds and from across the world, to work together over four years, in order to reflect on how children can be change agents for science and society.

We imagined the global challenges that our world faces as mountains that together we needed to climb. The mutual learning of SiS

Catalyst, which we called Global Thinking, enabled us to see that all our journeys took us to the same place - to the top of the mountain. Though we recognised that all our routes were individual and that we had all started from different places. However, from the vantage point of the mountain summit we saw that that our shared agenda is no less than the survival of humanity

As Irina Bokova Director-General of UNESCO says in the UNESCO Roadmap for Implementing the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development (November 2014). (18)

“Today’s interconnected global challenges demand responses that are rooted in the spirit of our collective humanity. I believe that


the risks and opportunities we face call for a paradigm shift that can only be embedded in our societies through education and learning. “

In order for this paradigm shift to occur - we recognised that we need to find different way of thinking about ourselves, our shared future, and the world we want to bequeath our children. We proposed that we do this in partnership with the future i.e. in collaboration with our young people.

The concept that children are societal actors is a simple one. To recognise them as stakeholders in a shared future is not difficult, and once this idea is genuinely absorbed and acted upon, the paradigm shift has started.Like all journeys, climbing a mountain starts by taking a first step from our own personal location i.e. from the place where we

currently are. The recognition that children are societal actors is the first step. Putting this into action will depend on where you are, and what you do, but the journey has already started!

This book is about looking forward, recognising and embracing the global changes that are occurring. The time has come to lose our fear by recognising that not only MUST we do this, we CAN do this - but we will have to do it together with our children as it is their future we are co-creating!

Tricia Alegra Jenkins MBEPrincipal InvestigatorSiS Catalysts: Children as Change Agents for Science and Society

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(1) Frey, C and Osborne, M (2013) The Future of Employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?

(2) McKinsey Global Institute (2012) The world at work: Jobs, Pay and Skills for 3.5 billion people, McKinsey Company

(3) Oxfam (2014) Working for the Few: Political capture and economic inequality http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp-working-for-few-political-capture-economic-inequality-200114-summ-en.pdf

4) Castelló-Climent, A (2013) Education and economic growth Background paper for EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013/14.

(5) IPCC (2014) Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_AR5_SPMcorr1.pdf

(6) National Centre for Social Research (2013) Education and attitudes towards the environment Background paper for EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013/14.

(7) World Health Organisation (2014) HIV/AIDS Fact sheet N°360 Updated November 2014 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs360/en/

(8) UNESCO (2013) Education Transforms Lives Paris: UNESCO

(9) United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014) World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/352) http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Highlights/WUP2014-Highlights.pdf

(10) UNESCO (2013) Education Transforms Lives Paris: UNESCO

(11) UNESCO (2014) Education for All Global Monitoring Report Teaching and Learning: Achieving quality for all Summary Paris: UNECSO http://unesco.org.pk/education/documents/2014/launch_gmr/GMR_Summary.pdf

(12) Sharma, Y. (2014) What do you do with millions of extra graduates? BBC News 1st July 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28062071

(13) Sedghi, A. (2013) Survey lays bare European graduates’ hopes and fears, Guardian Newspaper 2nd July 2013 http://www.theguardian.com/world/datablog/2013/jul/02/survey-european-graduates-hopes-fears E. Welty and L. Lundy (2013), “A children’s rights-based approach to involving children in decision making”, JCOM 12(03): C02.

(14) Araujo, R. (2014) Science Communication and Critical Pedagogy – A pathway to include children as subject of rights, politics and knowledge, PCST 2014 conference proceedings(www.pcst-2014.org)

(15) Welty, E and Lundy, L (2013), “A children’s rights-based approach to involving children in decision making”, JCOM 12(03): C02.

(16) Merzagora M, Mignan V, Rodari P (2014) (Eds) Listening and empowering: Crossing the social inclusion and the science in society agendas in science communication activities involving young people. SISSA Medialab (2014)

(17) Merzagora, M and Jenkins, T. (2013), “Listening and empowering: children and science communication”, JCOM 12(03): C01.

(18) UNESCO (2014) UNESCO Roadmap for Implementing the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development Paris:UNESCO


R!f!r!ncesClaudia Aguirre (2014), “Science Centers. Which role can they play to participate in a city social reconstruction?”, JCOM 13(02): C04

Raul Araujo (2014), “Science Communication and Critical Pedagogy - A pathway to include children as subject of rights, politics and knowledge”, PCST 2014 conference proceedings(www.pcst-2014.org)

Andrea Bou-Vinals and Sylvia Prock (2013), “Children’s involvement in science communication”, JCOM 12(03): C05.

Camille Breton, Catherine Oualian, Amandine Galioot, Leïla Perié & Livio Riboli-Sasco (2014), “Can research-based activities address social exclusion?”, PCST 2014 conference proceedings (www.pcst-2014.org)

Emily Dawson (2014), “Reframing social exclusion from science communication: moving away from ‘barriers’ towards a more complex perspective”, JCOM 13(02):C02

Christian Gary and Cyril Dworsky (2013), “Children’s Universities - a ‘leading the way’ approach to support the engagement of higher education institutions with and for children”, JCOM 12(03): C04.

Matteo Merzagora and Tricia Jenkins (2013), “Listening and empowering: children and science communication”, JCOM 12(03): C01.

Matteo Merzagora and Luisa Massarani (2014), “Socially inclusive science communication”, JCOM 13(02):C01

Matteo Merzagora, Meriem Fresson, Vanessa Mignan (2014), “Empowering children: crossing the science in society and the social inclusion agendas”, PCST 2014 conference proceedings (www.pcst-2014.org)

Leïla Perié, Livio Riboli-Sasco, Claire Ribrault (2014), Straight into conflict zones, scientific research empowers the minds, JCOM 13(02):C05

Paola Rodari, Simona Cerrato and Anna Sustersic (2013), “Children as science journalists. A way to promote individual-lead learning and critical thinking, enhancing the participation of children in the dialogue between science and society”, JCOM 12(03): C03.

Paola Rodari, Simona Cerrato (2014), Science journalism as a way to engage children and teenagers in the science and society dialogue, PCST 2014 conference proceedings (www.pcst-2014.org)

Barbara Streicher, Kathrin Unterleitner, Heidrun Schulze (2014), “Knowledge rooms - science communication in local, welcoming spaces to foster social inclusion”, JCOM 13(02):C03

Elizabeth Welty and Laura Lundy (2013), “A children’s rights-based approach to involving children in decision making”, JCOM 12(03): C02.

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children as change agents

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