Learning Together: Advancing Alternatives for Children is a joint paper from CPD’s Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration and the International Detention Coalition.
This report reflects on five years of work in the Regional Peer Learning Platform and Program of Action on Alternatives to the Detention of Children in the Context of Migration in the Asia Pacific.
Established in 2019, the Platform was set up to advance promising practice in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Thailand on implementing community-based alternatives to the detention of children in the context of migration. Over the past five years the Platform has met virtually and in person, reaching over 157 individuals, 69 of whom attended multiple times.
Learning Together: Advancing Alternatives for Children is a joint paper from CPD’s Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration and the International Detention Coalition that reflects on five years of work in the ATD Peer Learning Platform.
In 2024, the Platform’s co-convenors launched a review to assess its impact over the past five years and identify the key design elements that contributed to its success. Over 20 people from a range of countries and organisations were interviewed about their experiences with the Platform, including people who were involved at its inception and those who joined more recently.
The paper captures the findings of that process, as well as several illustrative case studies of how the Platform contributed to policy change in the region, and serves as both a reflection tool for participants to celebrate achievements and a valuable resource for others looking to adapt the model in different contexts.
The paper identifies four key outcomes:
And five key factors of success:
While the Platform has achieved notable success, it has also faced challenges including designing agendas that are relevant for diverse national contexts, maintaining engagement between meetings, resource constraints and sustainability, and meaningful and safe inclusion of lived experience leaders.
