The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its newly established Academy, in collaboration with the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), successfully concluded the pilot training workshop on mainstreaming children’s rights in local governance from May 13 to 16 at the UP-University Hotel in Diliman, Quezon City.
About 40 members of the Local Council for the Protection of Children (LCPC) from the six pilot municipalities of Roxas in Oriental Mindoro, Dumaran in Palawan, Pangil in Laguna, Unisan in Quezon, Manito in Albay, and Santa Magdalena in Sorsogon, composed the first batch of the capacity building on children’s rights for local governments.
In her message to the participants during the closing ceremony, DSWD Undersecretary for Standards and Capacity Building Group Denise Florence Bernos-Bragas expressed profound gratitude and admiration for the dedication exhibited by the LCPC members.
“What an incredible journey these past four days have been. I am truly inspired by the passion and dedication each of you has shown in our efforts to mainstream children’s rights in local governance,” Undersecretary Bragas said.
The four-day day training is composed of different sessions facilitated by the resource person from CWC which aimed to strengthen the functionality on child rights principles and contextualize national frameworks to the local plans and governance system of the participating local government units (LGUs).
“To our resource persons from CWC, thank you for sharing your expertise and insights with us. Your contributions have been instrumental in shaping the discussions and enriching our collective understanding,” Usec. Bragas said as she acknowledged the vital role of the agency’s partner.
As part of the training workshop, the participants were capacitated to fulfill and initiate Four Legacies for Children including Local Development Plan for Children, Local Investment Program for Children, Local Code for Children, and Local State of Children’s report – all of which are important in passing the Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit.
Undersecretary Bragas urged the participants to carry forward the new-found knowledge in the formulation and implementation of child-related policies, programs and, services in their respective LGUs.
“Together, we have laid the foundation for positive change, and I have every confidence that we will continue to build upon it in the days and weeks to come,” the DSWD official emphasized.
As part of the pilot run, the DSWD Academy and CWC will be assisting the pilot municipalities through a series of coaching sessions and progress monitoring to enable their respective LCPCs to serve as an umbrella organization for all children’s concerns and uphold child rights within their localities.
Representatives from the Cavite Provincial Council for the Protection of Children (PCPC) were also present to explore future involvement in providing technical assistance to the LCPC at the city and municipality levels.
The training on mainstreaming children’s rights in local governance is among the menu of courses under the DSWD Academy, which serves as the agency’s facility that offers learning opportunities for the development of the competencies of its partner stakeholders to enable them to effectively and efficiently deliver social welfare and development and social protection. #
