Child Recruitment & Violence
Across the world, children are being recruited into armed groups, organised crime, gangs, trafficking networks and other forms of violence. While these realities differ from one country to another, they raise many of the same questions.
These are the questions at the heart of the next Mutual Learning Program.
Beginning in September 2026, professionals, researchers, community leaders and organisations from across the world will come together for six months of dialogue, reflection and shared learning.
Not because one country has the answers. But because together we may begin to ask better questions.
Register for the Mutual Learning Program
The Mutual Learning Program is not a traditional online course. It is an international learning community where participants from different countries learn from one another's experiences, research, practice and lived realities.
The coming program explores one of the most urgent challenges facing children today: Child Recruitment & Violence.
Rather than focusing only on crisis response, we explore the entire journey, from prevention to protection and reintegration, while remaining grounded in one central belief:
Children are best protected when families and communities are strengthened, not replaced.
Over four months we will work through three interconnected learning modules. Each unit runs over a one-week period of self-paced learning on the platform, closing with a live Zoom session.
📅 Introduction session — Zoom: September 3, 2026
Before we can respond differently, we first need to learn to listen differently. Together we explore collaborative and dialogic practices that help professionals, families and communities make sense of complex situations, create meaningful conversations and work across different perspectives.
| Unit | Period | Zoom Session |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1: The Philosophy and Premises of Collaborative and Dialogic Practices | Sep 4 – Sep 10 | September 10 |
| Unit 2: How Do We Generate Dialogue? | Sep 11 – Sep 17 | September 17 |
| Unit 3: How Do We Keep the Dialogue Going in Complex Situations such as Child Recruitment and Violence? | Sep 18 – Sep 24 | September 24 |
| Unit 4: Reflecting Processes | Sep 25 – Oct 1 | October 1 |
| Unit 5: Observatories & Generating Questions | Oct 2 – Oct 8 | October 8 |
Recruitment rarely begins with the recruiter. It often begins much earlier — in the gradual weakening of relationships, opportunities and support around children. Together we explore the drivers of recruitment, children's lived experiences, and the crucial role of families, communities and schools in creating protective environments before crises escalate.
| Unit | Period | Zoom Session |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1: Drivers and Lived Experience – What Becomes Visible When We Listen? | Oct 9 – Oct 15 | October 15 |
| Unit 2: When the Family Holds – Families as Protective Infrastructure | Oct 16 – Oct 22 | October 22 |
| Unit 3: When Communities Begin to Lead: Community-Led Prevention | Oct 23 – Oct 29 | October 29 |
| Unit 4: Adolescents at the Edge – The Protective Interview | Oct 30 – Nov 5 | November 5 |
| Unit 5: Closing – Recruitment in Digital Times & What Changes on Monday? | Nov 6 – Nov 12 | November 12 |
Protection is often understood as removing children from danger. But what happens when protection also means strengthening relationships? This module explores family- and community-based care, restorative approaches and reintegration as a process of rebuilding belonging, dignity and hope after violence or recruitment.
| Unit | Period | Zoom Session |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1: Protection Beyond Separation: Protecting Children in Contexts of Recruitment, Violence and Organised Crime | Nov 13 – Nov 19 | November 19 |
| Unit 2: Protection - Family and Community Care in Contexts of Recruitment and Violence: What Helps Children Remain Connected? | Nov 20 – Nov 26 | November 26 |
| Unit 3: Reintegration as Relational Rebuilding - Returning Is Only the Beginning | Nov 27 – Dec 3 | December 3 |
| Unit 4: Restorative Juvenile Justice: Beyond Punishment, Towards Accountability, Healing and Community | Dec 4 – Dec 10 | December 10 |
| Unit 5: Feedback Session – Collaborative Monitoring and Evaluation, What Emerged? | — | December 17 |
Upon completing the course and meeting attendance requirements, participants will receive a certificate of participation.
Some of the most meaningful learning doesn't happen during presentations. It happens when practitioners from all over the world begin asking questions together. The Mutual Learning Program creates that space — not to deliver universal solutions, but to build new understanding through dialogue, reflection and mutual learning.
This programme is designed for anyone working with children, families and communities affected by violence, recruitment or social exclusion, including:
Students and practitioners interested in family- and community-based care are also welcome. Whether your work focuses on organised crime, armed conflict, trafficking, youth justice, child protection or community development, you'll find opportunities to connect your own experience with colleagues from across the globe.
Become part of a growing international community working to strengthen prevention, protection and reintegration through families, communities and collaboration.
Join one of our online information sessions. We'll introduce the programme, answer your questions and look forward to meeting you.
Miércoles 26 de agosto (13:00–14:00 GMT) · Martes 1 de septiembre (13:00–14:00 GMT)
Times are shown in GMT — please convert to your own time zone.