Church of Norway

Commitment 1 (child protection):

In Norway, there is a strong legal framework protecting children's rights. Churches work within this framework, and are additionally focused on awareness raising and ensuring good practice and routines in case of emergencies. For over 20 years, the Churches' Resource Center against violence and abuse has developed Resources and educational materials, as well run capacity building programs.

Commitment 2 (child/youth participation):

There is some degree of variation on this issue. In Norwegian society at large, the Ombudsman for Children and other actors help promote active participation by children and adolescents. In the Church of Norway, participation is one of the main themes in the national Plan for Christian Education. The Youth General Synod provides an arena for young repreprentatives from churches all over the country to dicuss and pass resolutions on issues that concern them. However, we still have a long way to go when it comes to putting children and adolescents participation into practice on all levels - national, regional, and local.

Commitment 3 (climate justice initiatives for & with children):

There Church of Norway has a long history of engaging congregations, policy makers and the general Public on environmental issues, including climate change. There has been developed a number of educational resources targeted at children and adolscents related to eco-friendliness and climate change, in connection to Christian faith. However, there has been very little meaningful participation of children and youth in the development of plans and resources in this field.