Child participation is one of the core principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The Convention asserts that children and young people have the right to freely express their views and that there is an obligation to listen to children’s views and to facilitate their participation in all matters affecting them within their families, schools, public services, institutions, government policies and judicial procedures. Although the Convention on the Rights of the Child recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, there is still a way to go on securing children’s right to participation. What does research tell us about what inhibits and promotes children’s participation? And how can we ensure that the child’s needs and preferences are emphasized in decision-making and policy processes?

Keynote: Protecting Children, Creating Citizens: Participatory Child Protection Practice by Professor Katrin Kriz (Emmanuel College, US).

Professor Katrin Kriz is an expert on child welfare systems in an international context, and the author of a forthcoming book about participatory child protection practice in Norway and the United States.

Short presentations: Perspectives on children’s right to participation

Caroline and Mathilde (Pro’s at The Change Factory – Experts by Experience, Norway), Marthe Sleire Engedahl (UNICEF, Norway), Marit Skivenes (Professor at the University of Bergen, Discretion Director), Katre Luhamaa (University of Tartu).

Discussion

Practical information

Zoom link will be provided at the event page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/792429594858236/

This event is part of the Bergen Exchanges 2020: https://www.lawtransform.no/events/

PHOTO: Colourbox