Blog
Looking back and moving forward for the 10th CREAN symposium on children's rights.
Prof Aoife Daly, Dr. Florencia Paz Landeira, and PhD Researchers Liesl Muller and Emily Murray took part in the 10th CREAN PhD symposium in Stockholm from June 13-14th, presenting on the different facets of the Youth Climate Justice project.
Taking place in the beautiful Aula Magna at the Stockholm University, Sweden, the 10th CREAN symposium brought together doctoral candidates, supervisors and senior researchers to share research on current challenges and opportunities in children’s rights. CREAN, or the Children’s Rights European Academic Network, is a network of more than 30 European universities with the aim to enhance collaboration and exchange of information to strengthen children’s rights research and policy in an international and interdisciplinary manner. The annual PhD symposium is one of the exciting events that brings together doctoral students, at different phases of their research and on different challenges in children’s rights, and provides the opportunity to present to each other and receive feedback from both fellow students and senior researchers.
The symposium opened with a thought-provoking keynote panel consisting of Professor Aoife Daly (our very own!), Karl Hanson (University of Geneva), Maria Roth (Babes-Bolyai University, Romania) and Anna Nyland (University of Bergen, Norway), where these experienced children’s rights experts discussed how the discourse of children’s rights has changed over the years since their careers began. After the opening panel, the PhD students partook in a workshop led by PhD coach Katrien Klep (Leiden University) that helped students to identify common challenges in their doctoral research and best practices for overcoming the ups and downs of PhD life. Running parallel to the workshop, the 3 attending post-doctoral researchers, including Dr. Florencia Paz Landeira, presented on their current research to the senior academic researchers. Florencia's presentation focused on the temporal dimensions of children and youth-led climate litigation, specifically analysing the temporalities invoked in the Sacchi vs. Argentina case. Day 1 of the symposium wrapped up with an eco-conscious summer BBQ in Stora Skuggan, giving participants the opportunity to share reflections over some delicious food, in a wholesome community setting.
On Day 2, PhD researchers Liesl and Emily presented on a panel entitled “From Adult-Centrism to Post-Paternalism: A Paradigm Shift towards Children as Leaders and Rights-Holders" along with Evie Heard (Queen’s University Belfast) and Kirsten Kvalø (University of Oslo). With only 10 minutes to share the overall scope of their research each, Emily and Liesl gave a thorough overview of the aims and objectives of the Youth Climate Justice project while sharing their specific areas of interest and expertise. Emily presented on the importance of recognising and strengthening human-nature connectedness, especially in law, and the unique qualities of children – relationality, creativity, imagination – which make their climate leadership so transformative and important. In her PhD research, Emily will take an interdisciplinary approach to interpreting the UNCRC to find the interconnections between children, their rights, and nature. Liesl presented on preliminary findings from the child/youth-led climate case law breakdown, where she shared children’s rights-based analyses of 10 cases including Saachi v. Argentina, Billy v. Australia, and Agosthino v. Portugal. Liesl focused on intergenerational equity and future generations, development of law as a result of these cases, and how children and youth were involved in the litigation themselves. After presenting, the panel was given plenty of feedback and questions from the audience which lead to a very engaging, fruitful discussion on children as leaders in the 21st century, who are claiming their rights to participate and be heard across many areas from education and climate change to privacy rights. Day 2 ended with a closing panel composed of children’s rights experts Helen Stalford (University of Liverpool), Daniel Hedlund (Stockholm University), and Wouter Vandenhole (University of Antwerp), reflecting on the future of children’s rights.
Overall, the Youth Climate Justice team noticed the care and love that went into the planning of the symposium to ensure that all researchers felt welcomed and supported, and to create space for constructive dialogues, networking and affection. This close network of children’s rights researchers, from PhD students to the leading experts in the field, is truly something special in academia. Professor Aoife Daly, supervisor to both Emily and Liesl, mentioned that it was “particularly inspiring to see the impressive research being produced by early career researchers”, and noted how important it is that we always reflect on our position and role since international law and human rights is under threat in the face of the grave social injustices happening today, especially in Gaza.
As the 10th CREAN symposium concluded, it was evident that the dedication and passion of the participants have laid a strong foundation for future developments in children's rights. The event not only showcased groundbreaking research but also fostered a supportive and collaborative community. This symposium stands as a demonstration of the power of collective effort in driving positive change for children's rights across the globe.