Children’s right to participation in practice

This is the fifth in a series of webinars bringing together practitioners and academic experts to develop greater knowledge and understanding of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and its implementation in Australia. The Right of Children to participate and be heard is enshrined in the CRC. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has repeated the need for the meaningful participation of children in all aspects that impact on their rights in Australia’s policy and practice. Australia’s state and national child rights commissioners have also emphasised the need for children’s voices to be heard.

Professor Laura Lundy has promoted the engagement of children with the CRC Committee. She will outline the practical application of the ‘Lundy model’, and address the steps needed by state and federal government policy-makers tasked with the reporting process, as well as service providers and child rights advocates, to implement the Concluding Observations of the CRC and to ensure children’s participation in this.

NOTE: At least half an hour will be allocated for questions and answers, and comments

Speaker

Professor Laura Lundy has been in the forefront over twenty years of talking to children and making the voices of children heard in policy from the local to the global. She has developed a model clarifying the different aspects of participation – ‘space, voice, audience and influence’ – that has been adopted by international organisations such as the European Commission and World Health Organisation, and global NGOs such as World Vision and UNICEF.

Moderators

Dr Noam Peleg, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW, Book Review Editor, The International Journal of Children's Rights.


Associate Professor Faith Gordon, Deputy Associate Dean of Research, ANU College of Law, The Australian National University and Director of the International Youth Justice Network.

Who should attend

All welcome. The webinar will be of particular interest to:

• NGOs
• Federal, state and territory government officials interested in how to implement the CRC
• Indigenous rights advocates
• Children’s rights commissioners and staff
• Social and children’s services providers and practitioners
• Students and members of the public