According to recent reports by UNICEF and WHO, the decline in children’s mental health has become a significant global issue. A longstanding source of concern, it has emerged more strongly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Children have been further exposed to threats - including anxiety and depression attacks, heightened exposure to domestic and sexual violence and more subtle abuses such as unhealthy competition - which are taking an enormous toll on them and may ultimately lead to social exclusion and inability to realize their full potential.
Despite these highly concerning developments, availability of adequate support and services for the mental health of children and adolescents is greatly lacking worldwide. With this MOOC we want to show that it does not have to be this way. Children’s right to health is well articulated in legal and policy terms. An understanding of the main challenges faced by children and young people in this context and the knowledge of possible mechanisms that exist to address these concerns may help realise that there are solutions.
One particular area of interest looks into approaches that prioritise and commit to the direct participation of children and young people in decision-making in this area of their lives. As demonstrated by the recent GC International Conference , there is a strong call from children themselves to ensure that answers are given to their doubts and requests, and that measures are taken through meaningful consultation with them to support their coping mechanisms and their proper, healthy and safe psychological development. Our MOOC on this theme facilitates such understanding and knowledge by providing not only information and materials to understand children and young people’s mental health as a human right, but also guidance and examples on what can be done at the practical level.
The MOOC runs over 5 weeks and is organised in 3 modules:
In this MOOC, we invited experts in mental health and children’s rights from relevant UN bodies and agencies as well as NGO representatives and young advocates. The faculty includes (read bios here), among others:
Najat Maalla M'jid
UN Special Representative on Violence against Children
Anne Filorizzo Pla
MHPSS Global Lead, Save the Children
Thobekile Sithole
Children's Rights Project Manager, Global Campus of Human Rights
Amrit Rijal
Young child rights advocate from Nepal
Philip Jaffé
Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Marthe Wandou
2021 Right Livelihood Laureate
Grace Gatera
Lived experience mental health advocate from Rwanda
Mariam Muradyan
Children's Rights Regional Officer, Global Campus Caucasus
Upon completion of this course participants will have gained:
Ultimately, the course is a pathway to:
You can start the enrolment process by clicking the "enrol" button.
The course is a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), which means we do not select participants on any basis. Rather, we welcome anyone who is interested in learning more about the topic to enrol and participate for free.
Our course is a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), which means all components are open and totally free for anyone.
There are no registration or tuition fees. The certificate of participation is also free and offered to all those who successfully complete all the course requirements (see below for details on the certificate).
We want all participants in our courses to enjoy a great learning experience and we strive to always improve accessibility. Each week of the course includes one or two video lectures with accompanying transcripts and reading materials. The texts are in PDF format, work at low bandwidths, are printable and can be zoomed to the desired size. Some readings may include pages from accessible websites. This makes all of them accessible to those who use assistive technology software such as screen readers. Likewise, weekly discussions and module quizzes can be completed through our platform which is accessible, for example, to people who use speech input, keyboard accessible controls or text to speech tools. For more details please visit EdX Website Accessibility Policy.
The course is self-paced so participants can study in their own time. However, to enhance peer learning, interactive participation and self-assessment, weekly topics and discussions as well as module quizzes are proposed at set dates. In any case, they are all open until the end of the course to facilitate access and completion at any preferred time.
At the end of the course, if you have actively participated in all required weekly discussions and successfully completed all quizzes, you will receive a certificate confirming your participation.
Yes. All our courses can be audited for free. If you audit a course, you can participate in any or all activities and quizzes and complete them, but you will not receive a certificate. Do you still want some proof of participation? You can simply print the progress chart that you will find in your course page.