Methods and materials

This project invite OMEP National committees in six continents: Europe, Asia, Australia, North America, South America, and Africa.

1) Investigate local water sources for washing and drinking 

2) Grow their understanding of water’s significance in their lives 

3) Foster a sense of responsibility and connection to this vital resource 

The OMEP national executive committee accepting the invitation means:

  1. In each participating country there will be a person termed as ‘National Project Coordinator’ who so far should be national president of OMEP or the person the national president delegate.  
  2. The National Project Coordinator shall, with support from the national OMEP Committee, plan how to spread information about the project to OMEP members and invite participants.  
  3. The National Project Coordinator need to check and apply for ethical approval for children’s involvement and participation in the project. We attach information letter and consent form for parents and children which the coordinator needs to collect and keep in a safe place until January 2025 and then destroy them.  
  4. As this is a coordinated OMEP World Project, participants must work within the same framework. They must be given instructions and they shall use the project Guide. It is very important that the project follow the procedure. Thus, we can compare and bring forward the creative and critical thinking and expressions, quotes, and drawings of water for washing and drinking, from children from all over the world.   

Data collection instruments

All country reports must include both written and visual material and   
answer the following two questions:  

What significance does water, in any form and from any source, have in your country and local context? 

For example:  

  • Provide one relevant citation from your national framework/guidelines/curriculum.  
  • A sentence on the status of water in your country.
  • A short paragraph on the local water situation in your country. 
  • A longer paragraph on water that connects to a local situation or event. 

What meanings do children experience and express with water or with the lack of water?

For example:

  • What children say, tell, do, represent, theorize, imagine, and think about when engaging with the local waterscape.
  • This could take the form of stories, drawings, poems, songs, dances, etc.

Ethical issues

OMEP upholds high ethical standards and is committed to the wellbeing of children and their families. Given the international nature of the project and variations in countries’ laws and regulations guiding research practices; in each country, the OMEP executive committee should take a leading role in observing ethical research practices including applying and obtaining ethical clearance.

Data storage, analysis, dissemination plan

The OMEP national executive team responsible with this project will oversee storage of collected data. The collected data will be shared with the KINDknow team and the OMEP national executive committees may keep copies of the data. Collected data from all countries will be stored in the data bank to be created at the KINDknow and open to researchers for analyses upon requests. The overall qualitative and quantitative analyses will be carried out at the KINDknow and disseminated in the form of OMEP conference papers, IJEC journal articles, policy briefs, and posters.