Voice of the Child

“The voice of the Child ” is a community initiative launched by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority to set up an consultative group bringing together some of Abu Dhabi’s parents and children. It aims to constantly enhance interaction with parents and children, enable them gain a better understanding of challenges they face, discuss ECD-related topics, and ensure the voice of every child in Abu Dhabi is heard.

Initiative Objectives:

Better understand needs and challenges facing Abu Dhabi’s parents, children.
Recognize views and suggestions of the council’s members regarding ECA’s initiatives.
Recognize views of community members in different regions of Abu Dhabi by maintaining a constant dialogue with parents and children members of the council.
Boost members’ role in raising public awareness about early childhood development as ECA’s ambassadors.

Consultative Group Members:

The consultative group will consist of 12 eligible parents residing in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (four parents from each of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra), and six children aged 5-8 years old. The council will be restructured every two years.

Joining Conditions:

Parents of children aged 0-8 years old
Live in UAE for 5+ years
Humbleness and personal excitement about ECD
Ability to “move” and connect with people
Pragmatic and solution/ impact-oriented approach

Member Selection Criteria:

Selecting the group members will be based on the following criteria:

Level of Education
Family Sizes
Socio-economic Status
Gender mix (50% male, 50% female)
Half of members are nationals and the other half are expatriates
One parent of children of determination
A lottery will be conducted for eligible candidates to select the council members.

Members Role:

Attend quarterly gathering and assist in preparing materials for the group meetings
Propose solutions and thoughts on various topics discussed during the group meetings
Raise public awareness about the importance of early childhood development
Contribute to accomplishing various community-related project.
Volunteer to be parent/child ‘testers’ in any new ECA initiatives – 4 per year maximum
Content review/Engagement in ECA’s Parent-platform – 4 hours per month

Compensation/Reward:

Annual Recognition
Highlight members’ contributions and work outputs
Publish member profiles on Parent-platform and establish them as ‘key’ voices/ambassadors of Abu Dhabi in ECA

Note: This volunteer work falls within the social responsibility programs