Development of core competencies manual to equip tourism professionals to become part of the child protection system.

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

ECPAT International is a global network of organisations working together for the elimination of the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in all its manifestations i.e., exploitation of children in prostitution, online child sexual exploitation, sale and trafficking of children for sexual purposes, sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism and some forms of child, early and forced marriage. The ECPAT Network currently consists of 126 members working at national and local levels in 105 countries.

The ECPAT International Secretariat coordinates the global work of the organisation and is based in Bangkok, Thailand. The Secretariat designs and implements global and regional level programmes, and undertakes programming, advocacy and research and facilitates a range of network initiatives.

Context of the Consultancy

ECPAT has been working on strengthening child protection systems in the travel and tourism context. Efforts to address the sexual exploitation of children have gained momentum through the Global Study on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism and the resulting Call for Action from the first International Summit on Child Protection in Travel and Tourism, which significantly raised awareness and led to meaningful actions that contributed to protecting children.[1] In 2023, the topic was brought to the UN General Assembly by the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, and the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children. The dialogues organised in New York, aimed at placing child protection at the core of sustainable development and reshaping voluntourism practices. The events marked a significant step towards implementing international standards and policies, including the Sustainable Development Goals.[2]

To generate sectoral momentum for building robust child protection structures in travel and tourism context, ECPAT International has undertaken an initiative to equip tourism associations and vocational schools to become part of the child protection system. As part of this process, ECPAT International has documented existing practices from its network and intends to consult, involve, and position the ambition to integrate child protection courses in tourism sector-focused curricula and training by networking with relevant tourism associations and vocational schools globally. This, while ensuring that children and youth – current students – are consulted in the process and their perspectives are considered.

In this process, ECPAT International will gather experts from the tourism education sector in an international workshop to distill the core competencies, distinguished by a set of indicators with knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to adapt the tourism education practices to child protection in practical terms. This includes the need to increase the resilience of young people entering the tourism industry to sexual exploitation and trafficking, as well as the knowledge and skills of tourism professionals to protect children, as customers of the travel and tourism industry, as family members of the staff working in the sector, as interactors with tourists during activities, as those living nearby tourism complex, and in local communities that are affected by tourism developments. The core competencies manual on child protection for tourism education professionals will be developed in partnership with tourism vocational schools and associations, and allow to design and scale up vocational courses.

Objective

The objective of this consultancy is to work with ECPAT International to design the framework of the international workshop with the representatives of tourism vocational schools and academies, and to develop the core competencies manual on child protection for tourism education professionals.

It is expected that the core competencies manual developed in this phase would serve ECPAT International to produce thematic modules that can be then adjusted by tourism vocational schools and associations, according to this agreed framework, and incorporated into their education pathways.

To do this, the consultant would be expected to:

• Review existing approaches, training, and practices available from the ECPAT network, and available external documents reflecting the engagement of tourism schools and academies on child protection as part of their courses and curricula.
• Develop the framework of the international workshop that will be organised by ECPAT International with tourism schools and academies in the second half of 2024. This should include activities for tourism education professionals to:
  1. Understand the normative frameworks and structures that impact children’s rights in travel and tourism and sustainability context;
  2. Explore the common perceptions, beliefs, and connections between power structures, and power imbalances as factors leading to the sexual exploitation and abuse of children;
  3. Consider how gender and social norms impact the perception of sexual exploitation of children, to ensure that both protection of boys and girls is mainstreamed;
  4. Discuss the role and capacity of the education sector professionals to become part of the child protection system by including child protection trainings as part of the school’s or associations’ curricula. This includes understanding pedagogical approaches and requirements to ensure that the core competencies manual will be fit for the needs of the educational systems.
  5. Explore the ways tourism professionals can engage with their students, to ensure that the core competencies manual includes guidance on how future training should be informed by the perspectives and needs of children and youth who will enter the market as leaders in sustainability with child protection at the core.
  6. Agree on a common framework of core competencies and knowledge that should be reflected in the manual, to guide (as part of the next steps) the development of the trainings.
• Participate in the international workshop and co-facilitate some sessions to gather tourism education professionals’ experiences, insights, and needs, to inform the development of the core competencies manual.
• Develop a core competencies framework for tourism education professionals representing vocational schools and tourism associations from several countries and regions, so it can be used as an agreed manual of reference with clear learning objectives, structure, learning tasks, format, and evaluation for each thematic module. The core competencies manual will be developed in this pilot phase and will be used by ECPAT as guidance for producing child protection training in 2025.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

• A contextual overview with information to shed light on the pedagogical approach, competency framework, and learning objectives to be used during the workshop.
• A draft framework of the core competencies manual to be examined and detailed in the workshop with tourism education professionals.
• A core competencies manual based on the outcomes of the workshop, outlining the key core competencies and knowledge necessary for the development of the training. The core competencies manual should be accompanied by a 2-3 page technical handout.
• A technical handout based on the core competencies manual, and the agreed number of modules recommended by experts during the workshop, specifying learning objectives, method and duration of facilitation, types of activities to be employed, and evaluation method.

The purpose of the core competencies module and the technical handout is to create the clarity and foundation for the modules to be fully developed in the next phase based on the agree structure of each module, which can be validated after the workshop by the experts who attended the meeting.

CONSULTANT PROFILE

The consultant or (groups of consultants) need to have:

• Experience in participatory approaches, or consultations, in particular with educational sector professionals.
• Understanding of pedagogical approaches and the education sector.
• In-depth understanding of child rights, child protection, and in particular sexual exploitation and abuse of children.
• Experience in developing core competencies manuals and methodologies.
• Capacities to deliver trainings and workshops.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This is a home-based position using its own equipment. The consultants should be available for online calls including with different time zones in particular with Thailand where ECPAT International Secretariat is based.
• The Consultant is expected to travel for the international workshop in the second half of the year. The travel costs will be covered by ECPAT in accordance with ECPAT’s travel policies. The location and date will be confirmed in later stage.
• The Consultant is expected to act at all times in a manner consistent with the values of ECPAT International and in compliance with the organisation’s policies and procedures including Safeguarding Policies and the Code of Conduct.
• Applications from an agency or consortium can be accepted.

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