ABSTRACT
CESESMA, a community-based children’s rights organisation in Nicaragua, has supported action-research projects by children and adolescents since 2007. The CESESMA team took advantage of a lull in community activities during Covid-19 to undertake a sistematización (structured reflective review) of eleven previous projects. This process reinforced lessons from CESESMA’s previous work, including the importance of skilled facilitation and technical support; the nature of “empowerment” as a combination of capacity, opportunity and self-belief; the “four transformations” that occur during such experiences; the value of an action plan drawn up by child researchers; and the need for institutional commitment to implement this. There was also significant new learning around (1) the use of children’s drawing; (2) the significance of a conceptual change from “Young Consultants” to “Transformative Researchers”; (3) the challenge of child safeguarding and the importance of working in solidarity with parents and community; and (4) the value of adolescent promotores/as (community education volunteers) supporting child researchers. The concluding thoughts of the young participants (young adults who were child researchers years previously) give compelling evidence that when children engage with a participatory action-research project in their community, the experience can play a part in positively shaping the future course of their lives.
