Using cartoon videos to survey children and adolescents in the global south: A Tanzanian example

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 12, states that children have the right to be heard on matters that concern them. Animating Children's Views (ACV) provides an innovative product for implementing Article 12 while reducing the risk that nearby adults will disagree with and punish children, a vulnerable population. We argue that national statistical offices (NSOs) should add ACV child modules to large, representative surveys, thereby becoming leaders in inclusive survey designs. This methodology uses cartoon videos with recorded voiceovers heard through headphones, followed by questions referencing the video stories (vignettes) rather than the young respondent's own life. Proxy reporting is not used, and literacy is not presumed. Analysis of follow-up interviews and focus groups helped interpret and validate quantitative results of ACV modules piloted in Tanzania. In addition to implementing Article 12, ACV can help NSOs improve interpretation of new and existing statistical sources by including the perspectives and behavior of young people in the Global South.