The Proteknôn Journey: 9 Years of Collective Expertise in Action
October 2026
After nine years, more than 110 projects across 100+ countries, and collaborations with over 40 partners globally, Proteknôn Foundation for Innovation and Learning is in its final year of operations.
The Proteknôn Journey: Nine Years of Collective Expertise in Action looks back at what we built between 2017 and 2026 - not only our technical contributions to children's rights, protection and wellbeing, but also the distinctive way we organised and shared expertise.
At the heart of the story is how we worked together. As a women-led, feminist collective, Proteknôn brought together more than 60 experts with diverse professional and lived experience, geographical perspectives and languages. We shared leadership and responsibility, learned from and challenged one another, and came together flexibly around diverse projects. Grounded in a commitment to children's rights, participation, equity and inclusion, and in relationships, wellbeing and mutual support, we became more than a network of consultants: we became a community of practice.
Those ways of working shaped how we worked with others. Combining evidence-based systems thinking with relational, child rights-based approaches, we recognised local knowledge and expertise and sought to understand context and power dynamics. Together with partners, we translated evidence into practical solutions that could be owned, adapted and sustained beyond our involvement.
Drawing on our work in child protection and wellbeing, safeguarding, participation, gender, and climate justice, the report illustrates what this model made possible. It also reflects candidly on what worked, where the model was tested, and what others building collaborative, values-led professional communities might take from our experience.
While Proteknôn USA and Canada are closing, what we built together continues. Our knowledge, approaches, relationships and values are being carried forward by our members into new roles, organisations and collaborations. Proteknôn Rwanda, established as an independent organisation in 2018, continues in Africa and beyond, along with our Proteknôn community.
Find more examples of our work and publications here.
