Sweden

Ann Rava-Lynn has been an educator for 16 years, specifically working with children ages 3-12. As a school leader and member of the International Baccalaureate Educator Network, the main focus of her professional work is providing quality learning and teaching to children regardless of cultural, linguistic and social and economic background. She believes that education should be a right, not a privilege, for all, especially for children often marginalized in developing countries and gender-unequal societies. Having worked in the field of education, she sees how my work and profession are essential in making a difference in the lives of children. While it seems little on how she can create an impact with her students in the classroom and being a school member; however, every small act of charity and willingness to give hope, especially to children, can be transformational. She has written a couple of blogs on the IBPYP site to highlight children’s inherent capabilities and competencies to take a learning experience that is usually part of the PYP 5 (ages 10-11) curriculum called the PYP Exhibition. These blogs provided a new lens of the children’s ability to inquire into meaningful topics and empower them as learners.

Thomas Hammarberg is the EU Special Adviser on Constitutional and Legal Reform and Human Rights in Georgia and UN Senior Expert on Human Rights in Transnisstria. Thomas Hammarberg held the post of Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights in Strasbourg from April 2006 to March 2012. Prior to this he was Secretary General of the Stockholm-based Olof Palme International Center (2002-05), Ambassador of the Swedish Government on Humanitarian Affairs (1994-2002), the Secretary General of the NGO Save the Children Sweden (1986-92) and Secretary General of Amnesty International (1980-86). Thomas Hammarberg received on behalf of Amnesty International the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.

The Association for Promotion of Family Centers gathers and provides support to the family centers in order to promote cooperation between them. The Association aims at promoting child health, developing working methods that strengthen parents’ skills and raising awareness among decision makers about the value of health promotion and prevention efforts.

BRIS is a politically and religiously independent children’s rights organization that listens to, supports and strengthens children and young adults’ rights in society. The organisation conducts activities to raise the attention of politicians and decision‐makers to child rights’ issues based on children’s stories, and acts as a consultative body for legislative actions that affect children and young adults. BRIS’ helpline and support services offer children and young adults up to 18 years old a secure, anonymous and free access to email, chat, or call with a counsellor at BRIS. Since its inception, physical abuse has been a central issue for the organisation, but support is also given for other important issues where the child is mistreated, having problems or needs support and advice from knowledgeable and empathetic adults.