Using children’s rights to recover from the global pandemic

On 3 July, Eurochild organised an international hybrid conference for the Building Children’s Futures project to explore the importance of fostering rights-based solutions across the EU using Child Rights Impact Assessments. 

Eurochild, together with members Children’s Rights Alliance, UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, and other leading Irish partners organised an international hybrid conference with children and youth representatives across Europe in Malta, July 3 2024, as part of our EU-funded Building Children’s Futures project.

The conference brought together children, national governments, the European Union, civil society, professionals, all to discuss the importance of listening and including children meaningfully in public policy development and implementation through the use of child rights impact assessments (CRIAs).

The implementation of CRIAs can change the lives of children by ensuring that children’s needs are prioritised in key decision-making. The conference highlighted the progress in Ireland to implement CRIAs, alongside discussions with European experts in child rights mainstreaming at national and international level.

Watch the recording back to catch the full discussions.

Click here to read the presentations for the conference

Click here to read the Children’s Report written by UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, together with the Children and Young People’s Advisory group

The importance of embedding children’s rights in public decision-making

During the Building Children’s Futures project, key stakeholders across government, civil society, academia, and children and young people themselves, worked together to co-create child rights impact assessment tools following the Covid-19 pandemic. As one of the partners, the Government of Ireland has committed that these tools will be incorporated into Ireland’s national policy framework for children and young people, Young Ireland.

The cumulative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has had major implications for a generation of children and young people across Europe. This project worked to ensure that the pandemic recovery would be guided by:

• Improving understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on activities and services for children and young people, especially those disproportionately affected by measures.
• Raising awareness on how decisions about children’s rights were made and the role of child/youth participation and local structures played during emergency times.
• Identifying best practice in responding to children’s needs during the pandemic and how child rights impact assessments are used throughout Europe.

The Building Children’s Futures project has been funded by the European Union (2022-2024), and involved Children’s Rights Alliance, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, Children and Young People's Services Committees - Tusla the Child and Family Agency in Ireland, UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, Foróige, and Eurochild.

Further information

• This hybrid event took place as part of Eurochild’s larger Networking Convention, Fostering Rights-Based Solutions to Tackle Child Poverty and Social Exclusion across Europe, which took place July 2-3. Click here to access photos from the event, including photos of the Building Children’s Futures conference.
• For any inquiries, contact Ciaran O’Donnell at the Eurochild Secretariat.
• Click here to read our agenda.
• Click here to read the speakers programme.