Applies to: any DAO whose activities involve participants under the age of 18 ("minors") — for example, programs delivered in schools or with youth communities.

Status: Mandatory for in-scope DAOs. This page sits alongside the DEP Privacy Notice and Disclaimer and should be read together with them.

 

1. Why this page exists

DEP 3 DAOs operate as experiments under Kambria's program. When DAO members approach schools, parents, or guardians, they do so in connection with Kambria's name. Because minors are involved — and because the safety and personal data of children are specially protected almost everywhere — Kambria sets a minimum safeguarding standard that all in-scope DAOs must meet, and provides the consent and disclaimer materials needed to engage schools and families responsibly.

This is not about adding bureaucracy. It is about protecting the children involved, the DAO members doing the work, and the wider DEP community.

 

2. Shared responsibility — who does what

Safeguarding is a shared responsibility.

Kambria provides (the floor)	The DAO is responsible for (on the ground)
Minimum safeguarding standards (this page) and required templates (consent + disclaimer for schools/families).	Reading, adopting, and enforcing these standards before any contact with minors.
A clear statement of the program's experimental nature that DAOs can share.	Obtaining valid written consent from parents/guardians (and schools where required) before any activity.
A channel to raise safeguarding concerns ([email protected]).	Complying with the child-protection and data-protection laws of the country where the activity takes place.
Guidance and, where possible, signposting to resources via the DAO Facilitators.	Designating a DAO safeguarding point of contact and keeping consent records secure.

Important: Kambria does not supervise day-to-day, on-the-ground delivery and is not a party to any agreement between a DAO and a school or family. Meeting this standard does not transfer legal responsibility for delivery to Kambria. But "the DAO is fully responsible" only holds where the DAO has actually been given a standard to follow — which is what this page provides.

 

3. Core safeguarding principles

• Best interests of the child first. If an activity could put a child at risk, it does not go ahead — regardless of program timelines or targets.
• Informed consent. No minor participates without prior written consent from a parent or legal guardian, and from the school where the activity runs through a school.
• Data minimization. Collect the least child data necessary. Never publish a child's full name, image, school, or contact details without explicit, specific consent. Store any child data securely and delete it when no longer needed.
• No private one-to-one adult–minor contact. Interactions with minors happen in supervised, program-related settings only — never in private channels, personal DMs, or unsupervised one-to-one calls.
• Transparency about the experiment. Schools and families are told plainly that this is an experimental DEP activity and what that means.
• Report concerns immediately. Any safeguarding concern is escalated at once (see Section 6).

 

4. Mandatory requirements before engaging minors

Every in-scope DAO must complete all of the following before its first activity involving minors:

1. Adopt this standard and confirm to your DAO Facilitators that your team has read it.
2. Designate a safeguarding point of contact within the DAO (a named, reachable person responsible for consent records and concern-handling).
3. Use the Consent & Disclaimer template (below) — or a stronger, locally compliant version — and obtain signed consent from each child's parent/guardian and, where applicable, written permission from the school.
4. Check local law. Confirm your activity complies with the child-protection and data-protection laws of the country of delivery (for example, in Kenya: the Data Protection Act, 2019 and the Children Act, 2022). Where you are unsure, pause and raise it with your DAO Facilitators.
5. Set up secure record-keeping for consent forms and any child data, with access limited to the DAO's safeguarding contact and essential team members.

 

5. Representing Kambria to schools and families

When contacting a school, parent, or guardian, DAO members may:

• State that the DAO is participating in Kambria's DAO Experimentation Program (DEP) and is taking part in an experimental, community-led initiative.

DAO members must not:

• Present the activity as an official Kambria product, service, or guarantee, or imply Kambria is delivering or supervising the activity on the ground.
• Make promises on Kambria's behalf (funding, outcomes, certifications, continuity) that are not in the program documentation.
• Collect child data "on behalf of Kambria" — data is collected by the DAO, for the DAO's activity, under the consent given.

In one line: The DAO delivers the activity. Kambria provides the program framework and standards. Schools and families must be able to understand that distinction from the materials they receive.

 

6. Raising a safeguarding concern

If anyone — a member, a parent, a school, or a child — raises a concern about a child's safety or data:

1. Ensure the child's immediate safety, and stop the relevant activity if needed.
2. Notify the DAO safeguarding point of contact immediately.
3. Escalate to Kambria at [email protected], with enough detail for the team to understand what happened.
4. Where there is a risk of harm, follow local mandatory-reporting requirements and contact the relevant local authorities.

 

7. Legal note

Please read: These guidelines are a minimum standard and a starting point — they are not legal advice and do not replace the laws of the country where an activity takes place. Each in-scope DAO is responsible for ensuring its activity complies with applicable local child-protection and data-protection law. Kambria recommends that this page and the Consent & Disclaimer template be reviewed by a qualified legal professional in each relevant jurisdiction before use at scale.

 

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Participation Consent & Disclaimer — [DAO Name]

Instructions for the DAO (delete before sharing): Fill in every [bracketed] field. Have this reviewed against your local law. Provide one copy to the school and one to each parent/guardian, and keep the signed copies securely.

 

About this activity

[DAO Name] is a community team taking part in Kambria's DAO Experimentation Program (DEP) — an experimental, community-led initiative. This activity is organized and delivered by [DAO Name], not by Kambria. Kambria provides the overall program framework but does not deliver or supervise this activity on site.

What the activity involves: [plain-language description of the activity, where and when it takes place, and who from the DAO will be present].

 

Information we collect and how we use it

• What we collect: [e.g., child's first name, age group, and activity-participation notes].
• Why: to run and improve the activity and report on it in anonymized or aggregated form.
• Images/quotes: we will only photograph, record, or quote a child, or share anything identifying them, if you tick the optional consent box below.
• Storage & deletion: information is stored securely, accessible only to essential [DAO Name] team members, and deleted when no longer needed.
• Your rights: you may ask to see, correct, or delete your child's information, or withdraw consent at any time, by contacting [DAO safeguarding contact name + email].

 

Disclaimer

Participation is voluntary. [DAO Name] will take reasonable care during the activity. This activity is experimental and is delivered by [DAO Name]; Kambria is not responsible for its on-site delivery. By signing, you confirm you have read and understood the above.

 

Consent

I, [parent/guardian full name], am the parent/legal guardian of [child's name], and I consent to my child taking part in this activity organized by [DAO Name].

[ ] I also consent to my child being photographed/recorded and to those images/quotes being used for program highlights. (Optional)

Parent/Guardian signature: ___________________ Date: ___________

School representative (if applicable): ___________________ Date: ___________

DAO safeguarding contact: [name] — [email]