Children on the Move Coalition
The Children on the Move Coalition is a group of faith-inspired organisations committed to working together to end violence against children on the move.
In 2017, a group of 14 faith-based organisations convened to end violence against children on the move, including refugee, immigrant and internally displaced children.
On October 16 -18, 2018, over 185 participants and 85 organisations gathered at the General Curia for the Society of Jesus in Rome, Italy for the Faith Action for Children on the Move – Global Partners Forum. The forum engaged religious and faith-based organisations, communities and children to build consensus and develop a high-level action plan around the three main evidence-based themes that illustrate the unique contributions of local faith communities and faith-based organisations:
2022
- Spiritual support for children and their caregivers to promote healing and resilience
- Strengthening a continuum of protection for children on the move
- Building peaceful societies, opposing xenophobia, racism, and discrimination
2018
- Spiritual support for children and their caregivers to promote healing and resilience
- Creating a continuum of protection for children on the move
- Building peaceful societies, opposing xenophobia, racism, and discrimination
Action Plan
The culmination of the 2018 event was a Forum Action Plan endorsed verbally and in writing by many of the steering group members built on the three evidence-based pillars and including a fourth targeted on working together. The action plan is being implemented both by individual organisations and the coalition as a whole. We have published a Faith Sensitive MHPSS to Foster Resilience for Children on the Move booklet (2021) and Policy Brief (2023) rooted in three regional roundtables comprised of 120 practitioners, policy-makers, academics and faith representatives engaged in working with displaced and migrating children from Syria, Ukraine and Latin America.
Current Initiatives
Spiritual and psychosocial support
A working group focused on building tools, resources and increased evidence on the essential role faith actors can and are
This group is mapping and piloting approaches for faith actors engaging in faith-sensitive psychosocial support for children.
Peacebuilding and combatting xenophobia
A working group focused on building positive tools and approaches that prevent conflict and violence and creating accepting
Global Refugee Forum
In 2022, this group made a pledge to the Global Refugee Forum focused on faith-sensitive Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.
We commit to working together as faith, interfaith and non-faith actors
Steering Group Members
We believe that by working together we can end violence against children in all its forms. Founding steering group members included ACT Alliance, ADRA International, Alliance for the Protection of Children, Anglican Alliance, Arigatou International, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities, KAICAIID, Mennonite World Conference, Micah Global, The Salvation Army, Religions for Peace, Seventh-Day Adventists, World Council of Churches, World Evangelical Alliance, and World Vision International.
