Commissioned by ECFG and researched and authored by Mtoto News, this report explores how adultism shapes philanthropic systems, practices, and decision-making, and what it takes to move toward more child-centered and childist approaches. It examines how adult perspectives and authority can be privileged within philanthropy, often limiting the meaningful participation, leadership, and decision-making power of children and young people.
Drawing on interviews with philanthropic funders, focus group discussions with young people, an analysis of philanthropic organizations, and insights from a validation workshop at the Africa Children Summit, the report explores how adultism manifests across individual attitudes, institutional structures, and broader cultural norms. It also considers how adultism intersects with other forms of discrimination and identifies barriers that can prevent children and young people, particularly youth-led organizations, from meaningfully influencing the decisions and resources that affect their lives.
Moving from research to practice, the report introduces the ARPRAISE model, an eight-stage framework designed to support philanthropic organizations in identifying and challenging adultist bias and embedding childist approaches across their strategies, policies, grantmaking, and accountability practices. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all solution, the report invites funders to critically examine how age-based power operates within their own institutions and take meaningful steps toward recognizing children and young people as partners and agents of change.
