The CEPIA is made up of 34 children and adolescents whose term lasts for two years, and they can be re-nominated for another term, provided they meet the required criteria.
In general, half of the CEPIA councilors will be renewed each year in September, coinciding with the end of their two-year term. The 17 new members will be introduced to the other half of the councilors, who will already have a year of experience and will be the ones renewed the following year, at the In-Person Meeting held in that same month. This will allow for renewals while maintaining the experience and exchange of generated knowledge, as there will always be half of the CEPIA councilors with at least one year of experience when new councilors join.
In 2026, as it will be the first time this renewal mechanism is implemented, all 34 members will be renewed, with 17 councilors to be renewed in September 2027, stepping down voluntarily, and if less than half of the CEPIA councilors volunteer, a draw will be held to select the remaining ones. The other half of the councilors will step down in September 2028.
Candidate requirements:
- They will be proposed by the participatory structure, entity, organization, or collective to which the candidate belongs.
- They must include an adult belonging to the participatory structure, entity, organization, or collective, who coordinates communication with the secretariat and collaborates with the councilor in exchanging information between the CEPIA and the participatory structure, entity, organization, or collective.
- Each participatory structure, entity, organization, or collective can only present one nomination that includes the proposed councilor and their substitute.
- The nomination will have:
- An individual presentation (written, video, audio, creative expression, or other alternative means), in which the candidate explains their reasons for wanting to be part of the CEPIA, what collective interests in children's rights they will represent during their term, how they will enable the participation of the other children and adolescents who are part of the entity that endorsed their candidacy, and who will be their substitute if they step down before completing their term.
- A proposal for action that contributes to improving the situation of children and adolescents and to the defense and promotion of their rights.
The selection of candidates will be carried out by a jury that will consider the following selection criteria:
- Territoriality: selection of members from territorial, local, provincial, and regional children's participation councils, aiming for a balance between children and adolescents from both rural and urban environments.
- Promotion of social inclusion: priority will be given to the selection of children and adolescents belonging to entities defending the interests of groups particularly vulnerable to discrimination.
- Defense of the full set of children's and adolescents’ rights: selection of children and adolescents who are active members of entities whose mission is to defend, guarantee, and promote children's and adolescents’ rights and provide channels for child participation in decision-making.
An effort will be made to achieve a balanced distribution among these three criteria, between girls and boys, and the representation of different ages.
After selecting the CEPIA councilors, they will be appointed in a resolution published on the website. The rest of the nominations that meet the required criteria and achieve a sufficient score, according to the call, will be part of a pool of nominations that can be used in the next renewal of CEPIA members.
Automatically translated with OpenAI from Spanish