3.2 The coordination mechanism – CFCD Task Force;
The coordination mechanism in all the sites visited happens through the CFCD Task Force TF. In some places the coordination mechanism for the CFCD initiative is done
by a dedicated Task Force created with the intention of organize the process such as in Surakarta. In others, such as in Poliwali Mandar, no TF was created; in this case, the
coordination of the CF village is done by the regular body that already exists at village level KHPPIA. In this case Poliwali Mandar, the coordination mechanisms meet at regular
basis to discuss diverse subjects, not only related to the child friendly initiative.
In all the cases, the coordination mechanism involves a strong representation from most areas under the responsibility of the local government, plus some representatives
from civil society. The representation of children in the task force is not constant. For example, according to the interviews, in Surakarta, the facilitators for the city child forum
sometimes participated in the TF meeting, but children and adolescents from the forums were not always invited. Besides, the meetings for the TF happened during school hours,
creating a conflict with the children’ schedules. Another example comes from Balikpapan, where the Child Forum was invited to participate in all the TF meetings.
In terms of civil society participation, NGOs would be the best fit for representing the local community, and specific interests from outside the government. The participation
of NGOs in the Task Force is limited. According to the interviews conducted during the field trip, few were the inputs provided by the NGOs and accepted by the different Task Forces.
For the NGOs that participated in the CFCD effort, there is space for improvement in terms of overall coordination of the initiative, and real cooperation among the actors. For the
NGOs, at most of the times the governmental sectors are still too centred on their own issues, implementing isolated policies.
Across the four visited sites, there is no consensus in terms of the influence of children in the Task Force, and, consequently, in the policies that are discussed in the
meetings. While some interviewees mentioned clearly that the children’s influence on decision making is low, other consider that they can help and influence the decision making
process. It seems that this influence varies according to the openness of the Task Force for the participation of children, and it is influenced by how the Child Forum item 3.3 is
organized and how active it is in the city or district.
3.3 The role of child participation in the decision making process
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