The DAPHNE-CHILD Grantee Spotlight Podcast

Feminist Workshop, Ukraine

In the 17th episode of the Daphne-CHILD Grantee Spotlight Series, Liubov Kolomieiets from Feminist Workshop discusses their project preventing sexual and gender-based violence through school-based sexuality education in Lviv, Ukraine. The project operates in a context where sexuality education is absent from the national curriculum, officially resisted by the Ministry of Education, and widely treated as taboo, particularly in a city where religious communities strongly shape family attitudes. Working with children in public schools, Feminist Workshop delivers interactive sessions built as a flexible puzzle of activities rather than a fixed curriculum, adapting in real time to each group's age, background, and readiness to engage. All of this unfolds against the backdrop of war: displaced children, disrupted school days, sleepless nights, and young people who may have lost parents to the conflict, making Feminist Workshop's trauma-sensitive, inclusive approach not a methodological choice, but a necessity. This podcast is part of a series aiming to showcase the vital and innovative work of our grantees in the Daphne-CHILD programme as they combat violence against children across Europe.

ASINDOWN Valencia, Spain

In the sixteenth episode of the Daphne-CHILD Grantee Spotlight Series, Samuel Romero from the Down Syndrome Association of Valencia (ASINDOWN) [https://asindown.org/] discusses their project, Breaking Down Barriers [https://daphne.childhub.org/en/child-protection-hub/breaking-down-barriers-bullying-empowerment-and-education-young-people-down-syndrome], empowering children and young people with Down syndrome to prevent and respond to bullying and violence. The project tackles the full spectrum of violence these children face, from the invisible early signs of exclusion and peer rejection, to cyberbullying and what Samuel identifies as institutional violence: the inaccessible protocols, minimising responses, and delayed interventions that leave children with Down syndrome systematically unprotected by the very systems designed to help them. This podcast is part of a series aiming to showcase the vital and innovative work of our grantees in the Daphne-CHILD programme as they combat violence against children across Europe.

Hintalovon Child Rights Foundation, Hungary

In the 15th episode of the Daphne-CHILD Grantee Spotlight Series, Zsofia Karetka is joined by Anna Boukydis from Hintalovon Child Rights Foundation's Child Participation Programme, and two members of their Kids Colleague team, Lili and Nilla – the young people who actually led the creation of the courses, rather than simply featuring in them. Hintalovon's Kids Colleagues is a group of 16 children aged 13 to 17 embedded as genuine partners across the foundation's work in Hungary. For the Daphne-CHILD programme, they designed two courses from scratch: an online course on child rights for 14 to 18-year-olds, and an in-person workshop guide for teachers working with children from 10 to 18. Lili and Nilla speak about the debates, the compromises, and what it really takes to make educational material that speaks to children – in their language, about things that directly affect their lives. This podcast is part of a series aiming to showcase the vital and innovative work of our grantees in the Daphne-CHILD programme as they combat violence against children across Europe.

ELIX Conservation Volunteers, Greece

In the 14th episode of the Daphne-CHILD Grantee Spotlight Series, Aliki Tzatha from ELIX Conservation Volunteers Greece [https://www.elix.org.gr/en/] discusses their SafeIng project [https://daphne.childhub.org/en/child-protection-hub/safeing-building-safe-and-inclusive-learning-environments] – transforming entire school ecosystems into safe and inclusive communities for children with refugee, migrant, Roma, and special education needs in Athens. The project confronts a Greek school culture shaped by frontal teaching and the absence of participatory practices, where violence along lines of race, class, gender, and appearance goes largely unchallenged. Working with 9 to 12-year-olds across three primary schools, ELIX delivers structured workshop cycles grounded in human rights education, democratic deliberation, multilingualism, and social-emotional learning – training teachers in tandem and gradually co-creating a classroom code of conduct with the children themselves. The work extends to parents and local communities, as illustrated by a schoolyard wall painted with "good morning" in over 15 languages: a simple act that turns children's hidden home identities into something to celebrate. This podcast is part of a series aiming to showcase the vital and innovative work of our grantees in the Daphne-CHILD programme as they combat violence against children across Europe.

UA Mental Help, Ukraine

In this episode of the Daphne-CHILD Grantee Spotlight Series, Anna Vashchuk from UA Mental Help [https://daphne.childhub.org/en/child-protection-hub/psychological-education-children-and-their-parents] discusses their project bringing psychological education to children and parents in the Bucha district of Ukraine, a community rebuilding after occupation while facing ongoing bombing, electricity cuts, and freezing temperatures. With 76% of surveyed families having experienced traumatic events, the team learned they had to start not with the children but with the parents, offering practical self-care tools and the simple reassurance that what they feel is normal. For children, traditional lecture formats proved insufficient in a context of shelling alerts and blackouts, so the team developed an interactive quest built around real-life scenarios. When a family masterclass filled up within hours, it confirmed what the team had sensed: what families need most right now is time to gather and feel supported as a community. As Anna puts it: "Every day, they're living their childhood, and we won't have the chance to give them a different one." This podcast is part of a series aiming to showcase the vital and innovative work of our grantees in the Daphne-CHILD programme [https://daphne.childhub.org/en] as they combat violence against children across Europe.