We are a collective impact organisation, with member child helplines operating all over the world. Since our foundation in 2003, we have brought together existing child helplines and supported the creation and scaling-up of new child helplines. We have strengthened our network by sharing what we have learned from the best of our child helpline members with all of our child helpline members.
We also collect and analyse data from our members on the contacts they receive from children and young people every year. This data, and the millions of individual stories that support it, tell us how and where in the world children and young people are suffering injustice, abuse and danger, or are in need of support, advice, help or comfort. We then present these stories to policy and decision makers and other influencers and help effect the changes that improve conditions for children in meaningful ways, both globally and locally.
We coordinate information, viewpoints, knowledge and data from our child helpline members, partners and other external sources. This exceptional resource can effect profound change in child protection systems globally, regionally and nationally. We collect, compile and analyse information from our members and use the data to advocate for children and young people around the world. The information comes directly from the children and young people, and the data represents their voices and provides them all with the opportunity to be heard.
We play a key role in fostering collaboration between our members, and our network is an essential element in achieving global and regional impact for children and young people around the world. We focus on developing thematic knowledge and expertise, and on developing the capacity of our members according to their needs. Together, we work on defining clear, representative and transparent core quality standards for child helplines, and the monitoring tools necessary to fulfil these standards.
Our strength comes through our members, working together, and this is also reflected in our governance structure where the highest mandated power is the Assembly of Child Helplines itself. Each and every full member of the network has an equal voice, and the Assembly of Child Helplines meets every three years to give final approval on overall strategy and to appoint Regional Representatives to our Supervisory Board. These five Regional Representatives ensure that the needs of child helplines will always be reflected in our work.
Our members adhere to the four core principles of the UNCRC: non-discrimination; the best interests of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child. Members also comply with core quality standards as jointly set by the network and commits to our mission and objectives as outlined in our Statutes.
Every year, our Members submit their data on contacts from children and young people. They strive to actively participate in International and Regional Consultations and knowledge-exchange events, and to contribute towards publications, learning tools and surveys and other research activities. Members actively promote the network’s activities.
To be a member of Child Helpline International means you are an organisation offering counselling and listening services to children (18 years and under) and/or young people (25 years and under) for the majority of your operations.
There are currently two types of membership:
For more detailed information, please see Membership Criteria.
We work closely with, and advocate on behalf of, our members before influential bodies, including:
As a member of Child Helpline International, you can gain knowledge without having to reinvent the wheel. Child helplines can look to each other for ideas and content. Being a member of the network provides a sense of community on a regional and global level. Through International and Regional Consultations, our members can interact, exchange ideas and, more importantly, work towards a common goal: improving the lives of children and young people.
Our network brings child helplines from all around the world closer together, enabling them to share knowledge and best practice on the different ways they operate child helplines. We organise International and Regional Consultations where members come to meet, discuss emerging trends in child protection, and share experience on specific topics such as approaches to counselling, data collection, monitoring and evaluating services, assessing impact, and so on, and we convene Communities of Practice on specific, thematic aspects concerning child helplines’ work.
In addition, we assess our members’ needs and support them regularly with publications, toolkits, manuals and guidelines, webinars and eLearnings on topics that can support their work and help them to build their capacity.
Fill in this Application Form and sent it to the Membership Manager, Steve Erwood, at steve@childhelplineinternational.org, together with the applicable supporting documents.
