Promoting Child and Youth Welfare 

 The Convention on the Rights of the Child remains a vital instrument in FAAVM’s work on the protection of children and adolescents. The National Child Protection Convention (NCPC), and the National Youth Development Congress (NYDC) promote meaningful, quality and positive participation of minority children and adolescents in Canada.

The NCPC also undertakes to conduct research programmes into the socio-economic impact, cost of institutional care, and inter-disciplinary research into the relation between child welfare protection and areas such as drug and alcohol abuse and family relationship breakdown. The FAAVM seeks to obtain government co-operational assistance to collect publications related to historical studies of institutional and other forms of out-of-care, as this information is widely disseminated. The NCPC gathers this information in order to establish a statistical database, which enables the design of intervention programmes, special frameworks and workshops aiming to educate parents and families on socio-political and sociocultural issues affecting the lives of children and adolescents.

The NCPC also seeks to promote a safe world and environment for children, advocates for the promotion and protection of children and their rights. Our commitment to the most underprivileged and disadvantaged children means that the FAAVM in its overall mission and mandate seeks to advocate on behalf of those children who are most vulnerable, including street children, child laborers, sexually exploited, abused children, children with disabilities, children who are orphaned and children affected by chronic poverty. 

 The reasons why children continue to suffer are complex and include poverty, discrimination, lack of adequate basic education and parenting. In response, the National Child Protection Convention (NCPC) advocates a multi-pronged approach through representation at local, national, and global levels. FAAVM on behalf of NCPC seeks to raise awareness on the plight of children worldwide. We strive to speak out on child related issues as our work among disadvantaged communities, which allows us to see first hand the challenges faced by children.  NCPC is active in promoting children’s rights to the national and international communities by engaging in research studies, designing special report papers and publications; conjointly with other national and international organizations, including UNICEF, by outlining the current situation of children, with recommendations on how such issues might be addressed, resolved and implemented progressively.   

 The focal point within the FAAVM system on matters relating to youth issues is the NATIONAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CONGRESS (NYDC), in the DIVISION FOR SOCIAL POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT, FAAVM SOCIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (SEDC). It has been established to: enhance awareness on national and global situation of youth and increase recognition of the rights and aspirations of youth; promote national youth policies, national youth coordinating mechanisms and national youth programmers of action as integral parts of social and economic development, in cooperation with both governmental and non-governmental national and international organizations; and strengthen the participation of youth in decision-making processes at all levels in order to increase their impact on national development and international cooperation. 

In addition, the National Youth Development Congress (NYDC) aims to address more effectively the problems facing young men and women and strive to increase opportunities for their active participation in society. The NYDC programmers also seeks to make Governments more responsive to the aspirations of youth for a better world, as well as to the demands of youth to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

The NYDC Programme on Youth tirelessly works on a variety of issues. One vitally important task is a report on the national situation of youth within underprivileged and disadvantaged young men and women in Canada.  Amongst several vital issues currently being addressed, an important one is the minority youth employment and education problem. The NYDC also undertakes to create a high-level multinational policy report paper containing practical recommendations; addressing minority youth issues with tangible action oriented goals and concrete objectives.