Shaking the Movers National Workshop Series
“Shaking the Movers” is an annual youth-driven and youth-led workshop series held in different regions of the country in both English and French. The workshops enable children and youth to have a safe space to consider aspects of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the context of their lived experiences. Shaking the Movers workshops also provide children and youth with a unique opportunity to exercise their right to engage in important civil and political processes with the assurance that their voices will be listened to and heard.
STM Workshop Series Funders: Lawson Foundation and the Muttart Family Foundation (Early Childhood STM workshops)
The Landon Pearson Centre designed these workshops to enable children and young people to “have the floor,” to present their unique perspectives and experiences, and to provide specific recommendations and input related to a children’s rights theme. STM began with one workshop in 2007; workshops are held annually with 8-17 year old young people are held in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick with the support of the Lawson Foundation. These workshops also receive partial funding support from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The Centre piloted three STM Early Childhood workshops for 3 to 7 year old children in Toronto, Edmonton and Pond Inlet in 2019 with the support of the Muttart Family Foundation.
A Model for Collaborative Consultation with Children and Youth on Public Policy
The Landon Pearson Centre’s model for collaborative consultation with young people guides the Shaking the Movers workshops. Funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada supported the development of the model in 2011. The unique features of this model are vital for the elaboration of effective public policy.
- For more information (Shaking the Movers: A Model for Collaborative Engagement).
- What Makes Shaking the Movers Unique? by Virginia Caputo (Commissioned by The Lawson Foundation)
Workshop Organization
Approximately 30 children and youth between the ages of 8 and 17 attend each two-day workshop; some workshops are designed as one-day events and include up to 25 participants. Adults assist with setting up the infrastructure for the workshop; they are there to listen only, to hear the recommendations made, to be a resource, to provide support to youth participants, and to ensure that the workshop takes place in a safe and comfortable setting. The outcomes, priorities, and ideas presented by young people at the workshop are written up into summary reports by a young person. Landon Pearson has made it her priority to ensure that the reports reach the hands of the “movers” in Canada and that they respond to young people’s concerns and recommendations in the reports. All reports and responses are public documents.
Shaking the Movers Early Childhood workshops, funded by the Muttart Family Foundation, are designed for 3 to 7-year-old children. These workshops are held during one afternoon with youth facilitators leading rights-based activities drawing on early childhood education expertise. The afternoon ends by bringing together children, their families, facilitators, and supportive adults to learn from children.
Shaking the Movers Annual Reports
Each Shaking the Movers event is organized around an article(s) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child:
- Speaking Truth to Power: Civil and Political Rights of Children (2007) Articles 12, 19, 24, 44 (pdf report);
- Identity and Belonging (2008), Articles 29.1.C and 30 (pdf report);
- Child Rights in Education (2009), Articles 28, 29 and 42 (pdf report);
- Children and the Media (2010), Articles 13, 16, 17, 34, 36 (pdf report;
- Youth Justice (2011), Articles 37 and 40 (pdf report);
- Mental Health (2012), Articles 23 and 24 (pdf report).
- Right to Play and Artistic Expression (2013), Article 31 (pdf report)
- Child Exploitation (2014)L (pdf report))
- Sexual Exploitation (2015): STM-BC (pdf report)
- Children’s Rights and Climate Change (2016): STM-Toronto (pdf report)
- Children’s Rights and Climate Change (2016): STM-East Coast (pdf report)
- Children’s Rights and Climate Change (2016): STM-Quebec (meeting held Jan. 2017) (pdf report)
- Children on the Move (2017): Ottawa (pdf report)
- Children on the Move (2017): STM- Toronto (pdf report)
- Children on the Move (2017): STM- British Columbia on Climate Change (pdf report)
- Children on the Move (2017): STM-East Coast (pdf report)
- Les Jeunes en Mouvement: Brasser Les Decideurs au Quebec (2017)(meeting held in Jan. 2018) pdf report
- Children’s Rights and Discrimination: STM Ottawa 2018: pdf report
- Children’s Rights and Discrimination: STM Toronto 2018: pdf report
- Children’s Rights and Discrimination: STM B.C. 2018 on Diversity pdf report
- Children’s Rights and Discrimination: STM East Coast 2018 pdf report
- La non-discrimination: Tous Les Droits Pour Tous Les Jeunes: Brasser Les Decideurs au Quebec: STM Montreal 2018 (pdf report)
- Children’s Rights in Schools: STM Ottawa 2019 pdf report
- Children’s Rights in Schools: STM Toronto 2019 pdf report
- Children’s Rights in Schools: STM B.C. 2019 pdf report
- Children’s Rights in Schools: STM East Coast 2019 (held Jan. 2020) (English pdf report) (French pdf)
- Brasser Les Decideurs au Quebec: STM Montreal 2019 (pdf report)
- Children’s Civil and Political Rights: STM Ottawa 2020 pdf report English pdf report French
- Children’s Civil and Political Rights: STM Toronto 2020 pdf report
- STM Toronto 2020 Video.
- STM Ottawa 2021 pdf report
- STM Iqaluit 2021 pdf report
- STM Edmonton 2021 pdf report
- STM London 2021 pdf report
- STM Toronto 2021 pdf report
- STM Toronto 2021 Video
- STM East Coast 2021 pdf report
- STM Ottawa 2022 pdf report
- STM Ottawa 2022 (23) First Nations Child and Family Caring Society pdf report
- STM London 2022 pdf report
- STM Toronto 2022 pdf report and Video here
- STM East Coast 2022 pdf report
- STM Early Childhood Edmonton 2022 pdf report
STM Mini Workshop Reports (developed by Dr. Brenda Morrison, Simon Fraser University):
- Shaking the Movers Kwayhquitlum 2018: pdf report
- Shaking the Movers Queen Mary North Vancouver 2018: pdf report
- Shaking the Movers Queen Mary II North Vancouver 2018: pdf report
- Shaking the Movers Tecumseh School, Vancouver 2018: pdf report
STM Early Childhood Workshop Reports
- Children’s Rights in Schools: STM Early Childhood Toronto 2019 pdf report
- Children’s Rights in Schools: STM Early Childhood Pond Inlet 2019 pdf report
- Children’s Rights in Schools: STM Early Childhood Edmonton 2019 (pdf report)
Shaking the Movers Disability and Children’s Rights (SSHRCC funded project)
- Shaking the Movers/IECSS 2018 Disability and Children’s Rights. pdf report.
- STM /IECSS Disability and Children’s Rights 2018 slide presentation
Related Resources:
STM Thematic Analysis by Undergrad Students King’s @Western, September 2021. With thanks to King’s student Kira Prince and Prof. Daniella Bendo. Click to read King’s,Western Report
MediaSmarts: Lesson Plan and Teaching Resource on Youth Rights and Media (2021)
In honour of Universal Children’s Day, celebrated on November 20th, MediaSmarts has developed Shaking the Movers: Youth rights and media, a classroom resource on media and children’s rights. The teaching unit encourages students to examine how the Convention on the Rights of the Child relates to their media use. MediaSmarts partnered with the Landon Pearson Centre, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, and UNICEF to design the resource. visit the English website, which includes a lesson kit for printing in PDF format; and the French website, (Vous pouvez imprimer l’activité et les documents d’accompagnement réunis dans un fichier PDF)