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The Child and Youth Studies Institute 2004 Session Theme: Children and the Youth in the Labour Process Call for Applications Children and the youth have always played an important role in African social systems. As powerful symbols of the vitality and continuity of families and communities, they are also considered as the bearers and guarantors of the future of society. For these reasons, in various societies, distinct roles in the economy and polity were carved out for them corresponding to different stages of their development into full adulthood. The processes of the socialisation of children and the youth into their roles and responsibilities were, historically, an organised feature of many African societies. Although remnants of these socialisation processes still exist, they have in the main been broken down and diluted by the variety of forces unleashed and/or accelerated by the experience of colonialism which also altered the context within which the systems of socialisation made sense. This development has, however, not altered the fact that the mobilisation of children and youth for participation in various social projects remains an important feature of the popular livelihood and accumulation strategies in many parts of Africa and elsewhere in the world. Of particular interest in this connection is the role which children and the youth have taken in the labour process in contemporary Africa. The way in which this has manifested itself has varied from period to period and place to place, with many cases of overlap in experience also occurring. It is not uncommon in many African countries to find children and the youth being actively engaged for paid and/or unpaid labour both within the household and beyond. However, drawing the line between the necessary socialisation of children and the youth into responsible adults with the appropriate work ethic and ethical framework and their outright abuse and exploitation for personal or commercial gain has become increasingly difficult and has led to the expression of concerns at the local and international levels by rights groups and various inter-state agencies that form part of the United Nations family of organisations. The International Labour Organisation, for example, estimates that some 246 million children are presently engaged as child labourers worldwide and that 179 million of these, or one out of every eight children globally, are exposed to the worst forms of exploitation. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that one out of every six children aged between five to 17 worldwide is exposed to child labour exploitation. Clearly, the changed context of the mobilisation of the labour of children and the youth, as well as the changing context of the exercise of childhood and adolescence account for the increased incidences of their abuse and exploitation. Unravelling these changes and relating them to the survival and accumulation strategies that have been developed has become an important question for the social research community, no where more so than in Africa where trafficking in children and the youth has become a major issue. It is for this reason that CODESRIA has decided that the theme for the 2004 session of the Child and Youth Studies Institute would be: Children and the Youth in the Labour Process. Through the 2004 Child and Youth Studies Institute, African researchers are being invited to contribute to a better understanding of the sources, dynamics and consequences of the exploitation of the labour power of children and the youth in contemporary Africa. Some of the earliest evidence of the exploitation to which children and the youth are being subjected was brought to light by the phenomenon of street urchins and alienated urban youth who came in different categories but were all uniformly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation by adults, including as beggars in organised syndicates, manual labourers, casual workers, apprentices, sexual objects, and street hawkers. Subsequently, evidence was collected which indicated that the systematic recruitment and use of children and young persons in "sweatshops" which was once thought to be a phenomenon limited to the export-oriented countries of East Asia and Latin America was very much present in Africa as producers of various consumer goods sought to limit their production costs, increase their competitiveness, and widen their profit margin. Furthermore, it soon came to light that a booming niche trade in the labour of children and the youth in plantation agriculture was taking place in various parts of the continent. This trade in children's labour was at the origin of the transborder trafficking of young persons; the traffic has been boosted in recent times by the booming informal sector trade in domestic labour and involving the recruitment of children and young persons from one country to work as househelps in other countries under conditions that some have categorised as literally equivalent to modern-day slavery. The difficult economic conditions prevailing across the continent, coupled with the expansion in the boundaries of poverty and informalisation, major incidences of violent conflict, the increased problem of refugees and displaced persons, the growth of the tourist sector, and the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic have contributed to the accentuated vulnerability of children and the youth to exploitation in the labour process. Attention has been drawn to the emergence of the phenomenon of child-headed families and households and the role which this plays in the increased deployment of children and the youth into the labour process. These developments constitute important elements around which participants in the 2004 Session of the Child and Youth Studies Institute are being invited to focus their attention with a view to deepening knowledge about the contemporary dynamics of the exploitation of the labour power of children and the youth, as well as the range of abuses associated with the process. In doing so, participants will be encouraged to undertake a critical assessment of the literature that has been produced on children and the youth in the labour process; contribute in a substantive way to questioning existing theoretical/conceptual approaches and developing new insights; marshal new empirical evidence; provide fresh re-interpretations of existing data; address the methodological fuzziness that characterises much of the research that has been undertaken on the exploitation of children and the youth in the labour process; bring a historical perspective to bear on the role of children in the labour process; weigh the economic costs and benefits of eliminating child labour; explore the directions in which tradition has evolved as it pertains to the place of children and the youth in the production and reproduction of livelihood; identify the sources of the susceptibility of children and the youth to exploitation; pin-point the international conventions that pertain to the involvement of children and the youth in the labour process, what they mean in practice, the developmental dilemmas which they pose and how these dilemmas could be overcome; and sharpen their own research interventions through the production of publishable reports on a given aspect of the theme of the 2004 session. In other to assist the participants in the realisation of these goals, the resources of the CODESRIA Centre for Documentation and Information (CODICE), as well as the expertise of invited resource persons will be made available to them. Laureates Candidates wishing to be considered for selection as laureates in the Institute should normally be researchers based in African institutions and who have completed their university education/professional training. Furthermore, they should have a demonstrable interest in the Child and Youth Question. Self-sponsoring non-African candidates will also be considered for a limited number of spaces in the Institute. A total of 15 laureates will be selected from the applications received. All candidates are required to submit an application which should include: A letter of request for consideration for admission into the Institute, complete with all available contact details (E-Mail, telephone, and fax); a research proposal of not more than ten pages linked clearly to the theme of the Institute and with a well-defined problematic; A current Curriculum Vitae; An official letter of institutional affiliation; Two reference letters. Resource Persons Four resources persons will be selected to work with the director of the institute to animate the discussions and debates that would be held. The resource persons are required to deliver lectures which not only help the laureates to stimulate their reflections on the theme of the Institute but also to revise their research proposals. As such, the resource persons must have a strong scholarly track record on the Institute theme. Each resource persons will be given a slot to make up to three presentations to the laureates; resource persons will also be encouraged to offer comments on the proposals of the laureates. Once selected, resource persons will be required to write up the presentations they would be making so that these can be circulated in advance to the laureates. After the Institute, they will be expected to revise their presentations for consideration for publication by the Council in a volume devoted to the theme of the session in which they participated. Candidates wishing to considered for selection as resource persons are requested to: Submit a letter of application; A copy of their curriculum vitae; An outline of not more than five pages of the issues they would like to tackle within the theme of the Institute and spread over three lectures of two hours each; and A reading list to accompany the presentation they would be making. Director The Director takes on the overall responsibility for managing the scientific sessions of the Institute not only in terms of designing an overall programme of presentations and discussions but also assisting the laureates to get the best out of the programme. The director is also expected to edit the proceedings of the Institute once the reports of the laureates and the revised papers of the resource persons are received. Candidates for this position should be accomplished scholars who will be able both to guide and inspire the laureates. Those wishing to be considered for this role are requested to send: A letter of application; A copy of their curriculum vitae; A detailed course outline on the theme of the Institute and which should also be divided into sub-themes that they would wish to see covered during the Institute; and A bibliographic list to accompany the proposed course outline. All applications received for consideration as laureates, resource persons and director will be screened by an independent selection committee made up of eminent scholars with expertise on the theme of the Institute. The deadline for the receipt of applications is: 15 August, 2004. Applications should be sent to: The Child and Youth Studies Institute, CODESRIA, Avenue Cheihk Anta Diop (Angle Canal IV), BP 3304, Dakar, Senegal. Tel: +221-8259822/23 Fax: +221-8241289 E-Mail: Child.Institute@codesria.sn
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