The purpose of the CRC Campus Club is to educate children on their rights established in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and highlight current issues young people face in which these rights are violated. Under the supervision of professionals from “Hope for Children” CRC Policy Center and a coordinating teacher from the corresponding school, students that are in secondary education level meet to explore various issues, such as cyber bullying, abuse, and gender-based violence, understanding how these issues affect young people and how they are in violation of their rights, and what they can do to exercise their rights as young people and stop these violations from occurring to themselves and their peers.

During the first part of the programme, weekly Club meetings are held in the schools by the “Hope for Children” psychologists and trainers, who teach the students through non-formal education techniques about their rights listed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and how the selected issues violate these rights and the effects they have on children. Subsequently, students learn how to identify when their rights and others’ are being abused and how to effectively respond and report these incidences. Importantly, they also learn about the resources available for children in regards to the various issues. After the completion of their training, a formal ceremony is held in which students receive certificates, establishing them as Student Ambassadors of the CRC Campus Club.

During the second half of the school year, students exercise their ambassadorial skills. With the assistance of the Club supervisors, students create, organize, and host various events – such as workshops and awareness-raising campaigns – to educate their peers regarding the rights and issues they have studied. The Young Ambassadors also have the opportunity of assisting “Hope for Children” Policy Center at its various events such as at the annual National Forum on the Rights of the Child, organised by“Hope For Children“ CRC Policy Center in an official capacity.

Through participation in the CRC Campus Club, students strengthen their leadership, communication, organization, critical thinking, and observation skills, as well as professionalism.

Following the successful implementation of the CRC Campus Club programme during the 2017-2018 academic year, the programme expanded to more schools from September 2018, providing free classes to four different schools in Nicosia: the G.C. School of Careers, the English School, the Senior School and the American International School in Cyprus.