To counter the problem of child labour and its main causes, help in the respective locality is necessary. In the Don Bosco centres supported by Jugend Eine Welt, former child labourers find warmth and affection, can go to school again and take vocational training
courses. Above all, all their needs are catered for so that they have the chance to lead an independent life without poverty. Access to education and the care and support given to the youngsters as they embark on a working life without exploitation give them all the chance to escape from the vicious circle of child labour. This is because the Jugend Eine Welt project partners know the local conditions and structures that perpetuate exploitation of children.
And it is sadly still necessary to create critical awareness among the general public of what harmful child labour actually is. Because here in Austria we are also confronted with the problem of child labour, albeit indirectly: in the form of numerous artefacts and products that we use every day and were made by children! Through educational activities conducted in workshops for schools, the Jugend Eine Welt education team ensures that people in Austria become aware of the topic at a young age. With the aid of public relations work, Jugend Eine Welt regularly calls on politics and industry to provide greater transparency in supply chains and to increase the number of fair products sold in Austria. By working together with civil society and supporting initiatives such as FAIRTRADE Austria, Clean Clothes, CLEANVEST (a fund/sustainability comparison platform operated by the Viennese social impact company ESG Plus) and the action group “Kinderarbeit stoppen!” (“Stop Child Labour”) which wants to see exploitation through child labour end and fair supply chains established, Jugend Eine Welt repeatedly draw the public’s attention to the problem of the worldwide exploitation of children.
