BACKGROUND DOCUMENT: THEMATIC FOCUS: REGIONAL PROMOTION OF CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION IN THE CONTEXT OF VIOLENCE.

The Inter-American Children’s Institute (IIN) has instituted – concurrent to the Pan American Child Congress – an event entitled the Pan American Child Forum for the promotion of child participation, at which children can exercise their right to give their opinions and be heard by the authorities responsible for the design and implementation of public policies for children in the region.

The Pan American Child Forum is an opportunity for coordination between the different spokespeople and representatives of the children of OAS member states. The right to participation has a key role in the Congress, as it positions children as rights-holders by disseminating their opinions and generating discussion with the authorities on subjects that involve the enjoyment of their rights.

The Forum is an integral part of the Pan American Congress, in compliance with Directing Council resolution CD/RES. 07(83-R/08).  It promotes a semantic shift in the current and future reality of children in every State, and their future democratic projects, since learning to participate is in itself an act of democratization. The event is grounded in the legal framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the American Convention on Human Rights, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the comments and recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, particularly on the subject of participation.

The 2^nd Pan American Child Forum will be held in Brasilia, Brazil, from 9 to 12 December, 2014. Attending the event will be children of between 12 and 17 years of age who have undergone participation experiences promoted by their States.

The objectives of the 2^nd Pan American Forum are:

1. To generate leadership among adolescents, in collaboration with technical experts in participation-related issues in the States.
2. To raise awareness on the issue of violence against children.

The forthcoming Forum will focus on three processes: knowledge, analysis and action. Above all, there will be ample opportunities for adolescents to express their creativity, so that they can assimilate the practical aspects of exchanging information, analysis and agreements regarding the different situations involving violence, and specifically, those that will be addressed at the 21^st Pan American Congress.