This paper reports on the outcomes of an international
seminar titled, "Children and Adolescents growing up in Poverty and Marginalisation:
Comparative Perspectives from India and Brazil," held at the World Social Forum 2004
in Mumbai, India. The goal of this paper is to inform the international community of
economic development scholars and practitioners about some of the key issues that
emerged from the discussions during the seminar. While primarily a "report back,"
this paper is also a reflection on practice and an invitation for action.

The event aimed to facilitate a dialogue between researchers, practitioners and
advocates working with socially and economically marginalised children and
adolescents in India and Brazil. It brought together representatives from research
institutions, as well as from NGOs based in India and Brazil that work directly with
marginalised children on service delivery and advocacy from a human rights
perspective.

The panelists and the members of the audience shared concepts, methodologies,
policies and information about effective programs for holistic development of
opportunities for disadvantaged children in the contexts of India and Brazil. As
pragmatic programming and policy issues were discussed in detail, most of the
discussions were grounded in a human rights framework. Thus, challenges facing
marginalised children were problematised in terms of violation of children's rights,
while interventions were conceptualised as approaches to fulfillment of children's
fundamental human rights. [Source: CRIN]

For more information, contact:
Tamo Chattopadhay
Teachers College, Columbia University
Email: tamoghna@att.net