The Project

Because only children can really explain what they need in their lives to feel good.

We ask ourselves:

• What are the things that are important for children to feel well?
• What is missing from their lives?
• What would they change if they could?

Only children can truly help us to find answers to our questions. We hope that our project, together with the CUWB, can help to construct a better place for all children in the future.

All children aged 8 to 14 years, who live anywhere in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, can participate. Children can live in big or small cities, in rural areas, in the Alps and so on, and they can have disabilities, a migrant background, live with or without their families, be undocumented … All children are welcome to participate and tell us about themselves!

The project will happen in two different phases. Children will participate in Phase 1 or in Phase 2. With children’s consent, both interviews will be voice recorded.

Phase 1: Interviews with around 60 children

In this phase, children will engage in the project by taking part in two interviews. The researcher will meet the children in a place where they and their family feel good (at home, at a community centre, in a park, at a playground …). The researcher will talk with the children about important aspects of their life and about the things that they need to feel well.

• In the first interview, children will be invited to draw a picture and to talk about what they like doing, the places that they like visiting, the things that are important to them and the things that they lack in their life.
• Children will also be invited to take part in a voluntary second interview, in which they will make a map and talk about the important people in their life.

Children can participate in the interview on their own or with a friend or sibling who would also like to take part in the project.

Phase 2: Focus groups with children

In this phase, the researcher will create different focus groups with three to five newly recruited children in each group. Children will participate in the study by discussing in depth one important topic concerning children’s well-being. The topics will come from the interviews carried out with children in Phase 1. The interviews will be about different aspects, such as safety, relationships and economic well-being. Within the group, children will talk about a specific topic on well-being and build up a collage about it

The members of the research team speak different languages (Swiss German, German, English, Italian, French, Portuguese and so on), and families and children can choose one of these languages to speak during the interview.

Please tell your parents or legal guardians that you would like to participate. Give us a call on +41 78 228 45 09 or send an email to wokids@ife.uzh.ch If you do not have any adult responsible for you, contact us and we will check the possibilities with you. We would be very happy to answer to your questions and to book an interview with you!