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The Learning Passport is one of TIME's 100 best inventions of 2021
Article

The Learning Passport is one of TIME's 100 best inventions of 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic saw students around the world struggle as schools shut down and home school was hindered by slow or—in many places—nonexistent Internet service. The Learning Passport’s solution: give students app- or browser-based classes that do not require a consistent web connection. Instead, students access the platform when they can, downloading their lessons to complete later, offline. Developed jointly by UNICEF and Microsoft, the Learning Passport allows educators to upload local curricula—meaning it works across multiple languages, subjects and age groups. First deployed in Timor-Leste in 2020, the Learning Passport now has some 1.6 million users in 13 countries.
UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival Celebrates the Best Global Films About Childhood
Article

UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival Celebrates the Best Global Films About Childhood

(Florence, 26 October 2021) Nine films about childhood have won the Iris award at the UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival 2021 (UIFF). The festival, which is organized by UNICEF Innocenti, showcases international film narratives of childhood. Taking place 21-24 October in Florence, Italy, the festival featured 38 films from 29 countries.
What were the immediate effects of life in lockdown on children?
Article

What were the immediate effects of life in lockdown on children?

Building on the first report in a series on child and adolescent mental health and timed with the launch of UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children 2021: On My Mind: Promoting, protecting, and caring for children’s mental health, a new report released for World Mental Health Day in 2021 looks at how the early stages of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 affected the mental health of children and adolescents.
Pandemic poverty threatens 35,000 children in the Czech Republic
Press Release

Pandemic poverty threatens 35,000 children in the Czech Republic

Prague/Florence, 30 September 2021 - As many as 35,000 children may be forced into life in poverty due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This figure is based on the estimates from the UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, the results of which were presented today by the Czech Committee of UNICEF.
New research looks at how to improve family-friendly policies in South Asia
Article

New research looks at how to improve family-friendly policies in South Asia

7 September 2021 - New research out today addresses what family-friendly policies look like in the South Asian context, where female labor force participation is very low and more than 90 per cent of workers are in the informal sector or under informal employment. Done in support and collaboration with UNICEF’s regional office in South Asia, UNICEF Innocenti’s new working paper considers how family-friendly policies can be responsive to the particular characteristics and circumstances of countries in the region – including multi-generation families, family units built around adolescent mothers (and sometimes fathers), and migration for work both within and outside countries. The research also tackles the question of how family-friendly policies might need to evolve in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. The associated advocacy brief: Reaching more families, benefiting more children and package of country reports identifies gaps and opportunities for family friendly policies in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Social protection for children not adequate according to new World Social Protection report
Article

Social protection for children not adequate according to new World Social Protection report

A new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) provides a global overview of progress made around the world over the past decade in extending social protection and building rights-based social protection systems, in the context of COVID-19, and with input from UNICEF Innocenti on social protection gaps and opportunities for children.
UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival returns in October
Press Release

UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival returns in October

(26 August 2021) Showcasing the awe, excitement, uncertainty, and troubles of childhood, the UNICEF Innocenti Film Festival (UIFF) returns to Florence and online this October. 31 films from 26 countries depicting narratives of childhood will be shown, accompanied with dialogues between the film makers and UNICEF experts.
Past crises offer solutions to the mental health fallout of COVID-19
Press Release

Past crises offer solutions to the mental health fallout of COVID-19

(29 July 2021, FLORENCE) From the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about its impact on the mental health of children and young people were widespread. While the evidence is still emerging, there are many signs it could be severe and widespread. Faced with a potential “pandemic within a pandemic”, evidence-informed responses are urgently needed to support mental health. A new report by UNICEF Innocenti, ‘Mind Matters: Lessons from past crises for child and adolescent mental health during COVID-19’, reviews the impact of past crises (such as natural disasters and the HIV epidemic) on youth mental health with the aim of informing responses to the current crisis.
Affordable, quality childcare inaccessible in many of world’s wealthiest countries
Press Release

Affordable, quality childcare inaccessible in many of world’s wealthiest countries

NEW YORK and FLORENCE, 15 June 2021 – Affordable, quality childcare is inaccessible in some of the world’s wealthiest countries, according to a new report published today by UNICEF. Luxembourg, Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Germany rank the highest on childcare provisions among high-income countries. The United States, Slovakia, Australia, Cyprus, and Switzerland rank the lowest.
UNICEF Innocenti 2020 Annual Report
Publication

UNICEF Innocenti 2020 Annual Report

(31 May 2021) The COVID-19 pandemic dominated the landscape for UNICEF Innocenti’s work in 2020, bringing both opportunities and disruptions. The pandemic has underscored the power of utilizing research and evidence in addressing crisis and uncertainty, and in finding solutions to tough global challenges. Opportunities emerged in the shape of a Rapid Research Response to assess the pandemic’s impact on children, utilizing evidence syntheses, rapid assessment tools and agile communication modalities. In turn, thousands of users were empowered to gain access to UNICEF Innocenti’s research, knowledge management, ethical advice and convening power.
Children’s voices critical for effective migration response
Article

Children’s voices critical for effective migration response

(13 April 2021) A new study highlights the importance of reframing the experience of children and young people based on their own motivations and lived experiences in order to adequately protect their rights. UNICEF Innocenti’s new report Reimagining Migration Responses: Learning from children and young people who move in the Horn of Africa captures the experiences of 1,290 migrant children and young people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan in an effort to paint a more accurate picture of migration in the region.
Joining forces to develop a research agenda on intersections of violence against children and violence against women
Article

Joining forces to develop a research agenda on intersections of violence against children and violence against women

(14 October 2022) Why develop a research agenda? As global evidence and interest in the intersections between violence against children (VAC) and violence against women (VAW) continue to grow, researchers and practitioners from the VAC and VAW fields are seeking ways to better collaborate and thus ensure the best outcomes for victims / survivors of both types of violence. To meet these needs and identify key evidence gaps, the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti is partnering with the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI), to collaboratively develop a research agenda for the intersections of VAC and VAW.