CHILD SAFEGUARDING POLICY

March 2024, Amsterdam

 

Child safety is our priority!

Designathon Works is on a mission to unleash the creativity of millions of children worldwide and to teach them to become changemakers for a better, cleaner future. And as we believe in the power of children to drive innovation and help create better lives for the good of our planet, and of all society, their safety is our priority.

Designathon Works commits to the safeguarding of children and the protection of their rights following the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and/or the national legislation of the country of operation.
 

At Designathon Works we hope to unleash everyone’s inner child, but for this policy, we define ‘Child’ in line with the UN Convention to mean ‘a human being (boy or girl) below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.’ And we pay special attention to children from minority groups and children with disabilities.

​

What does this mean? 

At Designathon Works we commit and we ask everyone who works for us to commit to the following:

​

1. Respect, protect and support children’s rights concerning learning and obtaining an education, and as much as possible reinforce community and government efforts to protect children’s rights.

2. Safeguard children in all activities (e.g., education, workshops, camps, field trips, volunteer activities), in our facilities and workplaces. This includes enhanced safeguarding measures in child-focused activities.

3. Communicate our commitments as an integral part of our desired culture and values.

4. Eliminate harmful child labor in our activities and relationships, including in our partnerships, service providers, merchandisers and other third parties and partners as much as reasonably possible.

5. Ensure Designathon Works’ products and services are safe for children

6. Avoid marketing and advertising that violate children’s rights, including their rights to the privacy of their personal data.
    

What do we ask from our partners?

We ask from our partners that every Designathon Works event or activity is carried out taking the following into account:

 

1. There must be a policy, procedures and/or code of conduct which defines the standards of personal conduct in interactions with children, and which respects at a minimum, the commitments and actions noted herein. If no such policy is in place, we ask the partner to subscribe to this Designathon Works Child Safety Policy.

2. We ask you to respect Designathon Works’ social policies by taking into account the impact on children’s welfare and rights in the design and implementation of all your activities.

3. Encourage a “Speak Up” environment. We ask you to be open to concerns and complaints by making sure concerns and complaints can be raised in a safe environment and are dealt with respectfully. Please ensure stakeholders, children, and their caretakers understand our commitment to child safety and where to raise concerns. Designathon Works' staff is asked to speak up if they witness an event that raises concerns and to cooperate with investigations. We ask our partners to do the same.

4. Build awareness. Please ensure that all staff with regular contact with children in any Designathon Works duties are appropriately skilled, and commit to their special obligations to safeguard children. Designathon Works does background checks on all staff employed by us and we ask you to do the same. Please communicate this Child Safety Policy with anyone working on any Designathon Works activities and as much as possible ask them to subscribe to this policy.

5. Partner and supplier integrity. We ask our partners to contractually commit to preventing harm to children in respect of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and/or local legislation, whichever sets the higher standard, and as much as reasonably possible we will ask the same from our suppliers and service providers.

6. Escalate immediately. Allegations and events relating to a Designathon Works event or activity should be reported to the head of the office (unless allegations relate to him/her) and the office’s Chair of Board (if relevant), as well as Designathon Works’ Chair of the within 24 hours of the issue becoming known.

7. Respond in a timely and appropriate manner to relevant events and allegations. Recommendations following investigations should be promptly implemented.

8. Investigate impartially. Those investigating issues provide a truthful and complete account of findings, are independent, and not influenced by victims, accused parties, or management.

9. Perform duty of care. Designathon Works and its partners have a moral obligation to ensure the appropriate treatment of alleged victims, accused parties and witnesses. This includes making sure there is special care for child victims of misconduct or neglect, protecting against retaliation, maintaining confidentiality, respecting privacy regulations, and fair treatment in investigation and disciplinary procedures.

10. Implement robust disciplinary measures. Confirmed acts of misconduct by a staff member shall result in firm discipline up to and including termination of employment, and, if appropriate, legal pursuit following local labor regulations

For further questions or comments on this child safeguarding policy, please contact Designathon Works through info@designathon.nl or check www.designathonworks.com for more information.