What is ICDI?

 

Mission Statement

ICDI is a Dutch non-profit organisation with a world wide brief, and a focus on transitional and developing countries. ICDI promotes the well-being of children growing up in difficult circumstances. We work to improve the policies and practices which affect these children by assisting in the development of local capacity (of children, their communities, organizations, and authorities). We believe in the power of children and young people, supporting their rights and addressing the underlying causes for the problems they face.

  

Guiding Principles

Our guiding principles are firmly rooted in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We believe that children are important in their own right and should feature high on political agendas everywhere. We promote the holistic development of children, the empowerment of families and communities, and build on available knowledge and local strengths. We want to address the underlying dynamics of child neglect, abuse, child labour and discrimination, rather than the symptoms. We work internationally, especially in developing and transitional countries, and collaborate with other national and international non-governmental organizations, government agencies and research, teaching and training institutions.

 In practice this leads to project which are comprised of:

-Tailor made training and capacity building of local stakeholders (Community Based Organizations, Non Governmental Organizations, authorities, etc.), especially those responsible for the care of children (social workers, teachers, parents, local authorities, police, etc.) in a range of relevant child development issues, e.g. psychosocial development of girls, Early Childhood Education and Care, inclusion of girls with disabilities, preventative community based programmes against sexual abuse, etc.

-Policy development and advice. ICDI has build a strong track record in advising government bodies and local authorities on how to reform and improve child protection services and systems (although ‘system’ is often a too big a word for what is available). We approach these issues with a realistic view, adjusting our advice to the possibilities available. We have especially build experience with creating changes in support for children without parental care (de-institutionalization and foster care).

-Innovative research on issues like ‘Newly Emerging Needs of Girls’ (realizing that many of the ‘traditional’ problems like poverty and risk of HIV-AIDS infection are compounded by new, ‘modern’ problems with which nobody knows how to deal yet) and ‘Positive Deviance’ (based on the concept of resilience, it is very interesting to see why so many children do well despite adversity, and how this can be used to empower others). But other research ideas that can have a practical impact could also be pursued based on local circumstances. Child participation is always at the forefront of everything ICDI does. Research is never done for the sake of reserach itself; it always has to have direct implications for bettering the situation of the children or the capacity of those respsonsible for their care.

Maybe not surprisingly given our holistic approach, but ICDI has also proven to be a good network builder, both within as well as across borders. The focus here is always to get together people and organizations that have expertise in child developmental issues, making them share and cooperate in finding hands-on solutions.

Areas of concern include:

Some of the areas of concern affecting children and youth that we have been working in in-depth during the last few years, are:
• child abuse
• child labour
• education
• foster care
• social exclusion
• early childhood development & care
• psychosocial development of children
• newly emerging needs of children

• child rights based programming
• children with disabilities

• violence against children