Child Protection and Education: Key Concepts and Organizations

Key Concepts in Child Welfare and Education

Intervention

Intervention refers to actions taken to prevent or correct unsatisfactory personal or collective circumstances. This includes ensuring the satisfaction of needs.

Educational Intervention

Educational intervention aims to help children acquire new skills, habits, and knowledge. These interventions contribute to the development of autonomy, personal knowledge, freedom, choice, and self-fulfillment. They foster intrinsic motivation.

Child Care Modality

This modality provides children with opportunities in various areas to promote learning and development. It focuses on meeting their needs and compensating for economic or cultural shortcomings and inequalities. It starts with the children's needs and seeks their inclusion in the environment, complemented by family action.

Motivation

Motivation is what activates and directs behavior.

Organizations Dedicated to Children's Rights

OMEP (World Organization for Early Childhood Education)

Established in 1948 under UNESCO, OMEP promotes education and addresses early childhood issues. It focuses on meeting the needs for protection, education, and respect for fundamental rights.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

NGOs are non-profit citizens' associations that assist marginalized groups. They are driven by a voluntary and free vocation. Their main objectives are:

• Raise awareness about the protection of children's rights.
• Investigate cases where rights are violated.
• Propose or amend legislative changes.
• Provide technical, personal, and economic resources.

Government Organizations

Government organizations create frameworks to defend children's rights, based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They design interventions to assist member states. Member state administrations are attributed with the necessary competencies and functions to study individual and collective personal, family, and social situations. They also design economic, training, and guidance programs for families.

Legal and International Frameworks

Custody or Authority

This refers to the obligation of parents to provide protection and assistance to their minor children unless they are emancipated or legally declared otherwise.

Protocol

An international document detailing plans of action.

Ratification

The adoption of a treaty by a competent body. A country whose government has acceded to a treaty is bound by its contents. The signature expresses a state's intent to refrain from acts contrary to the treaty's objectives and to adhere to it in the future.

Guardianship

Guardianship empowers certain individuals, by law, to protect and defend minors, orphans, disabled individuals, and their assets. It replaces parental authority when it cannot be exercised, either due to the death of parents or their failure to fulfill their duties.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)

A governmental and intergovernmental agency, UNESCO's primary objective is to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among nations through education, culture, and science. It aims to promote universal respect for the freedoms of all peoples without distinction of race, language, or religion. Additionally, it focuses on eradicating illiteracy, promoting compulsory education, and respecting human rights.

UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund)

Established in 1946 to assist European children left unattended due to World War II, UNICEF became a permanent organization in 1953, changing its name to the United Nations Children's Fund. UNICEF focuses on underdeveloped or developing countries, engaging in assistance activities, social and health promotion, and education.