December 2024: Eurochild network grows to 224 members in 42 countries

Over the past weeks, Eurochild full members had the opportunity to vote on key aspects of Eurochild’s governance and membership. Discover the newly welcomed members below.

One individual was admitted as an honorary member:

• Bruce Adamson was Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland from 2017 to 2023. During this time, his commitment to promoting and safeguarding the rights of children and young people across Scotland had a substantial and positive impact on children’s rights-based policy and practice.

Six organisations were admitted as full members:

• ZoJong is focused on young carers in Flanders and Brussels. Their mission is to improve the quality of life of young carers, who often face difficulties in their role. For many young carers, their situation can conflict with their rights, such as to education, play or to be protected from neglect.
• German Federation for Arts Education and Cultural Learning, as the umbrella organisation for cultural education, plays a key role in ensuring that every child and young person can access a wide range of arts and culture, fostering joy and cultural competence.
• Con I Bambini is a non-profit organization founded in June 2016 to implement the programmes of the Italian Fund for the fight against child educational poverty. Its mission is to address multidimensional educational poverty, which includes not just economic deprivation but also relational isolation, poor health, and lack of educational and social opportunities. It focuses on creating supportive educational communities and networks for vulnerable children and their families.
• Youth News Foundation was founded in 2015 by Dutch journalist Tako Rietveld. After working as a presenter and reporter for the Dutch National Children’s News for over ten years, he felt the need to give children across the world a voice.
• Emile Foundation has shifted its focus to supporting children in armed conflicts regions, including Ukraine. They have delivered over 150 tons of medical supplies, food, clothing, and generators to frontline villages and hospitals. The Foundation currently works on the full return mechanism of the illegally and forcibly displaced children of Ukraine and continues to advocate for children's rights globally through campaigns, events, and discussions with international bodies.
• Czepczyński Family Foundation supports the development of children and maximises their potential while developing innovative education programs for children. For the time being the Foundation has developed 2 education programs that are introduced in around 4.000 schools in Poland and abroad.

Three organisations and seven individuals were admitted as associate members:

• Olgica Cekic is a lawyer and human rights/child rights expert. She has been engaged since 2010 in the field of human rights and child rights in particular, with a focus on the protection of children from all forms of violence, and sexual exploitation, combating phenomena of missing children, child trafficking and alternative care of children.
• MobileSchool is a hybrid organisation using its expertise with street communities to foster sustainable development in youth and business sectors, with innovative educational tools for youth workers and high-impact learning products for businesses.
• Barbara Németh is a psychologist based in Budapest, Hungary, researching children's participation in decision-making processes. She has facilitated children's participation in research, campaigns, and monitoring mechanisms, developed guidelines and training materials for meaningful participation, and contributed to child safeguarding policies.
• Boglarka Janoskuti is a Board Member of the NGO Coalition on the Rights of the Child, a Senior Consultant in Children's rights for Terre des hommes Europe Foundation and for Hintalovon Child Rights Foundation. Her occupations cover legal advice, advocacy, policy, lobbying, research and training activities.
• Francesca Braga, as a lawyer, she has seven years of experience in civil and criminal law. Her research interests are in international criminal law, human rights, particularly gender issues, and violence against vulnerable groups such as LGBT people and refugee children. She has extensive experience collaborating with UN bodies, NGOs, and international organisations across Southeast Asia, the United States of America, and Italy.
• Jane Spiteri is a lecturer in early childhood and primary education at the University of Malta. Her research focuses on early childhood education for sustainability, climate change education and outdoor learning. She is particularly interested in how young children learn, teacher education and the developmental of worldviews around environmental sustainability.
• Foundation Children of Heroes of Ukraine is a grassroot NGO providing long-term comprehensive assistance to children who lost one of both parents as a result of the Russian war. They provide long-term support in many areas, including psychological counselling, camp organisation, legal assistance, and more.
• Yyouth is a nonprofit organisation based in Oslo that aims to empower young people by promoting professional and personal growth. Their mission includes fostering civic engagement, promoting diversity and inclusion, supporting entrepreneurship, and facilitating international educational exchanges.
• Florina Balint is experienced in child protection, working in both public and non-profit sectors. Since 2022, she has worked as an independent consultant, helping organisations build their capacity to serve children and young people, with a focus on child participation, grant writing, research, and safeguarding.
• Sarah Redmond is a social worker with experience in Children’s Social Care and a multi-disciplinary team covering Child and Adult Safeguarding Services, and Mental Health Services. Her current role includes working as an Approved Mental Health Professional in the UK, focusing on emergency mental health interventions, often involving children.