Workshop: Children’s Rights and Sustainable Practices

The workshop brings together professionals and academics in the field of children’s rights in the Nordic and Baltic and Eastern European Region, to discuss and identify areas for improving practical knowledge and sustainable practices of children’s rights.

A sustainable society requires investing in children and effectively implementing their rights. This requires not only a solid legal framework and well-developed system support but also experienced professionals who understand the complexities of applying the principles of children’s rights in various situations, as well as the complexities of the society that we currently live in. One of the key factors in implementing children’s rights is ensuring access to justice. This requires professionals, such as lawyers or social workers, who possess practical knowledge to apply legal norms and general principles of children’s rights in concrete cases, as well as to possess a range of competencies necessary for adapting to new realities and contributing to the building of a sustainable society. Despite the clear recognition of the importance of children’s rights among Baltic Sea and Eastern European countries, research shows that there is a lack of knowledge among professionals such as lawyers, social workers or school employees, which affects fulfillment of these rights. However, children's rights lawyers’ practical knowledge is a new scientific area within the interdisciplinary field of Studies in Practical knowledge, which requires promotion among professionals and academia, as well as the gathering of experiences from practitioners working in. The workshop serves as a starting point for establishing a platform for collegial collaboration on research into change processes in Swedish society, particularly in relation to welfare actors in the Baltic and Eastern Europe.

Keynote Prof. Nevena Vuckovic Sahovic
The Workshop will be opened by keynote speaker – Nevena Vuckovic Sahovic from Serbia, professor and former member and general rapporteur of the UN Committee of the Rights of the Child. She has taught at universities in Serbia, the UK, the Netherlands, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Spain, Portugal and others. She is the founder of the Child Rights Centre in Belgrade (1997) and the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights (1995).

Structure and themes

The Workshop is a one-day event consisting of three parallel-sessions and a practical workshop followed by discussion and a more informal dinner at the evening.


I Plenary sessions:
1.Children’s Rights and General
Principles of the rights of the childIn this session, professionals and academics will present and discuss good practices and challenges in implementing the general principles of children’s rights, with a particular focus on the principles of the best interest of the child, children’s participation and children’s protection against discrimination.
2.Implementation of Children’s Rightsand Lawyers Practical KnowledgeIn this session, a baseline for understanding lawyers’ practical knowledge in the field of children’s rights will be presented, along with ongoing results from empirical research related to the knowledge, skills and attributes that lawyers need to implement children’s rights and contribute to creating a sustainable society. These findings are part of the postdoctoral project: Lawyer’s Practical Knowledge of Children’s Rights Principles towards Sustainable Society – Experiences of Sweden and Serbia.
3.Children’s Rights and SustainablePracticesIn the third session, professionals and academics will discuss the knowledge, skills and attitudes that children’s rights lawyers need in order to contribute to building a sustainable society. II Practical workshop: During the practical workshop, participants will reflect on practical dilemmas in implementing children’s rights based on their own experiences.

The practical workshop will follow the methodology of the Centre for Studies in Practical Knowledge.

Abstract and professional dilemmas

Please submit an abstract that includes either:
a) A description of an academicpresentation related to one of the threeworkshop themes: 1) Children’s Rights andGeneral Principles of the rights of the child, 2)Children’s Rights and Sustainable Practices, or3)Implementation of the Children’s Rights andLawyer’s Practical Knowledge;
or

b)A short description of a professionaldilemma you are facing in your professionallife, related to one of these themes. Obs.Please ensure that the dilemma describes thesituation as concretely as possible withoutusing names or locations that couldcompromise the confidentiality or integrity ofthe individuals involved in the situation;

Length: ca. 300 words

We are looking forward to meeting you at the workshop!