Investing in children’s cognitive capital: Growing brains can grow economies in South and East Asia

By Lauren Rumble, UNICEF Indonesia Deputy Representative

A billion brains depend on the actions governments and partners take now.

The world’s best scientists have recently confirmed that greater investments are needed to promote children’s ‘cognitive capital’. Cognitive capital refers to the economic benefits resulting from investing in the evolving brains of children. Nobel Laureate James Heckman says that early investments yield the greatest returns: a dollar spent during prenatal and early childhood yields 7% to 10% more than investments at older ages. During the first years of life, one thousand brain cells connect every second. These connections define a child’s capacity to learn and regulate impulses and emotions. They influence the ability to solve problems and relate to others. To capitalize on these investments we need to secure nutrition, healthcare as well as safe and loving families for all children. This requires ensuring universal access to education, healthcare, sanitation and nutrition as well as freedom from poverty and fear for every child.

The reverse is also true. Adverse conditions are harmful to brain development and cognitive performance. Chronic neglect - such as that experienced by children in institutional care - has been shown to be highly disruptive to the brain architecture. This places lifelong limits on the development of skills that are necessary to succeed in school and adulthood.

Protecting children online is everyone’s business

By Kinanti Pinta Karana, Communication Specialist 

Lauren Rumble, UNICEF Deputy Representative, highlights the risk behind open access to online information.

The meeting room is abuzz with voices of people debating while some are writing pointers on flip charts. The scene is from the National Public Consultation on Child Online Protection organised by UNICEF Indonesia and the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemenkominfo). The event, divided into three stages, is attended by 150 invitees from CSOs, children and youth organisations, school counsellors, government officials, industry representatives as well as other UN agencies. It aims to create a set of recommendations to be handed over to the Kemenkominfo as the authority in online protection.

“Access to the internet, particularly through mobile phones, enables children and adolescents to be part of a global community, with unprecedented access to information. From the populated cities of Java, to the rural island communities in remote Papua, children in some of the world's most disadvantaged and inaccessible communities now have billions of gigabytes of information at their fingertips,” Lauren Rumble, UNICEF Deputy Representative says in her opening remark. “Access to social networks and the World Wide Web provide young people with incredible opportunities for education, entertainment, entrepreneurship and innovation. The possibilities are infinite. But alongside these opportunities are risks.”

“UNICEF recognises the very powerful role that children and young people can play in keeping each other safe from harm. Children and young people can support one another by sharing information about how to protect each other and speaking out against online violence, as they explore the many positive opportunities in the online world. With more than a third of Indonesia's youth population online, the opportunities for creativity and innovative solutions are endless,” says Rumble.

A Message to Indonesia: Please Stop

By Lauren Rumble, Chief of Child Protection

Lauren Rumble (front) with representatives from Sudah Dong and UNICEF Indonesia. ©UNICEF Indonesia/2015/Nick Baker.

One of the best parts of my job at UNICEF Indonesia is working directly with the young people of this country. I am fortunate enough to regularly meet such dedicated, creative and inspirational youth – so many of whom are making a real difference in their communities.

I recently met with the team behind Sudah Dong (meaning Please Stop), a NGO run by young people for young people that focuses on different ways to address bullying. The organisation was founded by Katyana Wardhana in 2014 shortly after her own experience of bullying at school.

Sudah Dong aims to mobilise actions of non-violence and peer support which will put an end to bullying. In June, Sudah Dong released its first manual for children and adolescents entitled “End Bullying” which they hope will reach one million pupils across the country. Within two weeks of launching, 625 copies had already been downloaded (you can download your own copy here).

The release of this manual is timely: Indonesia has one of the highest rates of physical attacks against students in the world (40 percent). More than 50 percent of pupils have experienced bullying at school. School, a place of learning and safety, is for many pupils, where they are most unsafe.

Punk rock in prison - children dream about life after detention in Klaten

by Lauren Rumble, Chief, Child Protection, Indonesia

In July, I travelled to Klaten district to visit children in prison.

I was impressed by their dedication to learning, even though the teachers allocated to the prison school often don’t come and health services are erratic. The children, all of them boys, dream of continuing their education and leading productive lives in their community upon release.

“I just want to go back to school when I get out,” said Hadi*. In prison, the boys have been learning art, music, drama and practical skills like printing. The boys are selling their work as part of an NGO-supported project to promote their return to community life.

Children in Makassar speak out on violence

by Lauren Rumble, Chief, Child Protection, UNICEF Indonesia

Michelin is 17 years old and is the President of the Child Forum in Makassar. I met her in May this year on my first visit to Makassar, along with other leaders of the Forum, and I asked them about their opinions on violence against children in the city.

She believes that violence against children, especially child trafficking and sexual violence against children living and working on the streets are major concerns for Makassar’s children.

“Not enough is being done about these issues,” she says.