“For Every Child, Every Right: Amplifying Children's Voices Through Responsible Media and Digital Advocacy”
Every Story Matters. Every Child Counts. Every Voice Protects.
Held in Commemoration of World Children's Day 2026
A national multi-stakeholder initiative convened by the Children Rights Advocacy and Legal Aid Foundation (CRALAF) in collaboration with the State Department for Children Services (SDCS), the National Council for Children's Services (NCCS) and other strategic partners.
The media plays a critical role in shaping public understanding of children's rights, influencing social norms, bringing protection concerns to public attention and strengthening accountability for the wellbeing of children. At the same time, reporting on children requires a high standard of accuracy, ethics and safeguarding, because careless or sensational coverage can expose children to stigma, identification, retraumatisation or further harm.
Kenya's rapidly evolving media and digital environment presents significant opportunities to advance children's rights, yet it also creates new risks. Children are increasingly exposed to misinformation, cyberbullying, privacy violations, harmful content and online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
There is also a need to increase coverage of under-reported child protection issues and the experiences of children in counties, informal settlements, arid and semi-arid areas and other underserved communities for them to be sufficiently represented in public discourse.
There is therefore a need for stronger and more sustained engagement with journalists, editors, community media and digital content creators so that stories about children are reported responsibly, grounded in rights and evidence, and connected to practical solutions and services. Recognition of good practice can reinforce these efforts by providing positive examples, encouraging professional standards and motivating continued engagement.
The Child Rights & Protection Media Awards are proposed as a national platform to respond to this gap. The initiative will recognise excellence in journalism and digital storytelling while strengthening media practice through pre-Awards engagement, ethical reporting guidance, county outreach and post-Awards learning. Building on CRALAF's ongoing media and digital engagement work, the 2026 cycle combines capacity strengthening, national and county outreach, responsible storytelling and public engagement.
The Awards ceremony on 20th November 2026, World Children's Day, will serve as the culmination of this wider process rather than a stand-alone event. This reflects the vision of the Awards as a shared national platform that brings together government, media, civil society, development partners, the private sector, communities, children and young people around a common commitment to children's rights, protection and wellbeing.
To strengthen ethical, accurate, child-sensitive and solutions-oriented media reporting that advances the rights, protection and wellbeing of children in Kenya.