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Partnership's strategy • Consultations: Throughout the past months the Partnership Secretariat has undertaken extensive consultation on the zero draft strategy. Inputs have been received from children in 22 countries and from over 2000 individuals at different points in time. In addition, groups have been coming together - for example, in Canada, civil society met with Global Affairs Canada and provided concrete recommendations to improve the strategy. • Call to Action and Launch of the Partnership: The Partnership and its strategy will be launched, alongside a package of evidence-based strategies for ending violence against children, on 12 July 2016 during a high-level Thematic Debate convened by the President of the UN General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Call to Action and Launch have the following objectives: • o Demonstrate public commitment from UN Member States, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector to participate in the Partnership; o Showcase the evidence-based interventions that can be used to prevent and respond to violence, and the ability of pathfinder countries to implement these solutions; o Launch the Partnership strategy; o Allow Member States to announce financial commitments to the associated fund; o Emphasize that children play a prominent role as agents of change and champions. Accelerating action • Country work: A number of countries have already initiated steps toward being prospective Pathfinder countries within the Partnership. To date, these include: El Salvador, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Philippines, Romania, Scotland, Sweden, and Tanzania. In the past months missions by the Secretariat have taken place to Indonesia, Philippines, Scotland, Sweden, and Tanzania. Discussions were held with representatives from across government; including finance, health, education, social welfare, gender and development, representatives from civil society, multi-lateral agencies, faith communities, donors, foundations, and children. These missions (i) explored each country's commitment to delivering SDG targets to end violence against children; (ii) reviewed current policies, strategies and plans for ending violence; (iii) discussed strategic priorities for the future; (iv) began the work of developing a 'road map' that will summarize the pathfinder countries' commitments to financing and delivery of SDG16.2 and related targets; (v) identified next steps, roles, and responsibilities. Key asks that have emerged from governments are technical support on implementation of the package, strengthening data collection and addressing social norms. • Technical package: Led by WHO, and in collaboration with PAHO, PEPFAR, Together for Girls, UNICEF, UNODC, USAID, US CDC, the World Bank and the Partnership, a technical package of seven evidence-based strategies to prevent violence against children is being finalized. The package is based on convergence between these agencies in the evidence-based strategies they have been recommending, and presents the best available evidence to help countries and communities intensify their focus on prevention programmes and services with the greatest potential to reduce violence against children. Following clearance by the agencies, it will be launched on 12 July 2016 and disseminated widely. Importantly, the package will also be central to the Partnership's strategy for strengthening national efforts to end violence against children. • Indicators: In March, a meeting was hosted by UNICEF to identify indicators to measure progress in implementing the package, and its effects on risk factors for and the prevalence of violence against children. One of the critical aspects of the discussion is to explore synergies between the global indicators being set to meet Sustainable Development Goal target 16.2 and related targets, and the indicators for the technical package. Governance • Governance: Stakeholders in the Partnership are now working to identify individuals, constituencies and organizations that are ready to commit the time and resources necessary to design and build a new Partnership. It was agreed that in the initial stage a high-level board is needed to secure commitments for this new initiative. The board may have up to 25 members representing governments, UN agencies, civil society, faith-based organizations, academia and the private sector. The board's work will be supported by an active team of senior level individuals from the Partnership's constituencies serving as an 'Executive Committee'. The fund • Fund: Work to deliver the Partnership's associated fund continues at pace and it will launch alongside the Partnership on 12 July 2016. In its first year of operation the fund will initially provide financial support to programmes which aim to further the Partnership goal of accelerating action to prevent and respond to the violence children face. Specifically, the fund will operate in three priority areas: o Preventing online violence, with a particular focus on sexual exploitation; o Addressing violence in the every-day lives of children, with an initial focus on investments in Pathfinder countries to implement evidence based programming; o Addressing the prevention of violence against children facing conflict and crisis. With support from the United Kingdom, an initial challenge grant has been provided to specifically combat the first priority area - online child sexual exploitation.