Raising awareness for a value chain free of child and forced labour

Music Against Child Labour

In a world that still has an estimated 160 million children trapped in child labour, art can be a powerful tool for change. With art, we can start conversations, unite around a common cause and emphasise the many ways in which we are similar. With this in mind, the Music Against Child Labour Initiative was first launched by the ILO, Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) and the International Federation of Musicians (FIM), together with renowned musicians and other key partners in the world of music. In February 2021, to mark the International Year on the Elimination of Child Labour, the ILO’s CLEAR Cotton project, JMI and FIM launched the first-ever global Music Against Child Labour competition.

Blasko Smilevski, Executive Director at Jeunesses Musicales International, saw the local-level music competitions as an opportunity to galvanise musical communities in these countries to reflect on and interpret issues around the cotton supply chain. 

“Musicians act as creative multipliers in their communities, spreading messages through art. These messages are able to touch audiences in profound ways that would not otherwise be possible, translating data into emotion, transmitting it to their communities both at home and abroad.”

Blasko Smilevski, Executive Director at Jeunesses Musicales International

In just 3 months, more than 200 song entries were received from 50 countries from musicians of all ages and across all genres. A technical jury composed of representatives of the ILO, JMI, FIM, the music industry, and former child labourers made a shortlist of songs which were presented to the celebrity judges. 

The celebrity judges were A.R. Rahman, Laura Pausini, Lokua Kanza, Juan Diego Flórez and Ralph Johnson (of Earth, Wind and Fire). They selected the winners and shared their messages of support.

Competition winners received a cash prize and the opportunity for a live recording of their song to be streamed at international and national events for the 2021 World Day Against Child Labour.

The winners of the global and grassroots categories were announced by the celebrity jury on the occasion of the World Day Against Child Labour event during the 109^th session of the ILO’s International Labour Conference in June. The winners of the CLEAR Cotton categories were announced during World Day Against Child Labour events in Mali, Burkina Faso, Pakistan and Peru.

The competition reached new audiences and the winning songs were showcased during other high-profile WDACL events in Brussels, Washington and in Africa at the regional level (the high-level event co-organized by ILO, UNICEF, the EU and Luxemburg on 11 June, the event organized by ILO-Washington on 10 June and the regional ILO-UNICEF Africa event).

Ultimately, the competition demonstrated that actors from all walks of life can use their skills and voices to act against child labour and make a difference.

Campaigning about the risks of child labour in Peru

In Peru, two campaigns were run to raise awareness about the risks for children working in the cotton, textile and garment value chains. One focused on agriculture in the regions of Ica and Piura, and the second focused on the garment sector in Lima (see links at the end of this section). The campaigns were run in collaboration with the ILO project “Cotton with Decent Work.”

In partnership with the Ministry of Labour, videos and podcasts were produced targeting children, parents, teachers, social partners, journalists and general audiences. The agriculture campaign included radio and TV spots and material for social networks. The garment campaign included activities aimed at children, teachers, parents, businessmen, municipal officials and journalists, and the general public. 

These campaigns reached more than a million people. Three videos from these campaigns were included in the government’s online distance learning platform for school children “I Learn at Home (Aprendo en Casa) Education Program” to widen their outreach. This is a multi-channel education programme that offers children remote learning opportunities and was set up following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Raising awareness on children’s exposure to pesticides

In the countries of intervention, agriculture – and cotton production – supports millions of people. Cotton production is often characterized by high incidences of children working under hazardous conditions, carrying out tasks such as land preparation, ploughing, applying pesticides and harvesting.  Pesticides are commonly used and found on farms where women and children are exposed to these hazardous substances.

“ILO support has helped raise awareness of child labour within cooperatives, thanks to the insertion of provisions in the statues and regulations of cooperatives in this regard, their translation into the Bamanan language for better accessibility, the training of women in leadership and on the fight against child labour, as well as of agents of support structures.”Pesticides are normally hazardous materials with the potential to harm people unless well protected. Therefore, children and adolescents should not handle pesticides at all. This includes manufacturing, mixing, spraying, cleaning equipment or disposing of unused stuff. Farmers’ associations, Trade unions and other community-based organisations can share this message to protect the children.”

Ingrid Christensen, ILO Country Director, Pakistan

To tackle the problem, FAO raised awareness of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) to protect children from pesticides in the Southern Punjab region of Pakistan through Farmer Field Schools (FFS), and in Mali through sensitization activities in the Dimitra Listeners’ Clubs. Both have proven to be effective channels to change attitudes and practices toward child protection and education. 

Farmer Field Schools brought together cotton producers to learn how to shift towards more sustainable and safe production practices. The reduction in pesticide use was promoted through a dedicated FFS module focused on the risks connected to children’s exposure to pesticides. This FFS mini-module on children’s exposure to pesticides has been integrated into different FFS curricula. 

It was complemented by a handy booklet and visual guide called “Protect Children from Pesticides!” produced by FAO and ILO for the Pakistani context in Urdu and in Sindhi (available soon). 

“The packaging of these pesticides and the containers in which they come are very attractive. Before, we used to wash these containers properly with soap and keep them for reuse. But the guide has shown us that no matter how much we clean, the poisonous residue of pesticides remains in the containers and it is harmful for us to reuse.”

Shagufta Yasmeen, Farmer

The visual guide shows how children are exposed to pesticides, the health risks, why children are particularly vulnerable and what can be done to reduce those risks. It also teaches farming families how to identify and minimize the risks of pesticides and hazardous agricultural tasks. The visual guide can be understood by anyone, no matter their literacy level.

“Since reading this visual guide, I stay away from pesticides. My father also advised me to stay away, especially when pesticides are being sprayed on crops.” 

Waheed Ashraf, formerly in child labour, Junior Farmer Field and Life School student, Pakistan

4,940 farmers across Sindh and Punjab provinces were reached and trained on children’s exposure to pesticides through Farmer Field Schools. This is a catalytic effect of the CLEAR Cotton project in the context of the GCF-funded “Transforming the Indus Basin with Climate Resilient Agriculture and Water Management” (2019-2026).

In addition to the Farmer Field School activities, members of Women Open Schools (WOS) and Children Ecological Clubs (CEC) were trained on the topic of exposure to pesticides for children. The members contributed to the piloting and finalization of a module on “Protecting Children and their Communities from Exposure to Pesticides.”

Beyond direct beneficiaries, the project impacted a wide audience in cotton producing areas communities, through community radios that shared messages on the importance of eliminating child labour. In Burkina Faso, forum theatre and other community animation sessions were also conducted reaching over 2,700 individuals including children. During the COVID-19 pandemic, local radios and phones were used to send relevant messages encouraging parents to help their children studying while schools were closed and keep them away from harmful agricultural tasks.

Using similar approach and tools, the ILO and the Pakistan National Textile, Leather, Garments and General Workers Federation (PNTLGGWF) sensitised 4,000+ cotton-picking workers on child labour, forced labour and OSH, including COVID-19 risks, and protecting children from pesticides through 67 events in Southern Punjab. OSH was used as an entry point to explain the worst form of child labour (hazardous child labour being one of them) to gradually reach an understanding of all forms of child labour, and their dangers to children’s development, health, morals and education.