Building a Sustainable Society Through Child Participation

Anna Sonander, PhD, is Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Law, Faculty of Social Sciences, Lund University. Her research concerns how professional actors in their work with children are affected by and relate to various factors such as legislation, organizational culture and resources.  Sonander has for many years been one of the coordinators of the Child Rights Institute at Lund University and was one of the organizers for the conference: Empowering Children and Youth through Law and Participation, which gathered participants from 13 different countries. Together with colleagues at LU, Sonander is working to build a strong research environment on children's voices, rights and development.Per Wickenberg, PhD, is Professor in the Sociology of Law, at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Lund University. His research focuses on norms and norm-creating processes in organizations, and he has a deep interest in norm-supporting structures, as well as in leadership, expectations, and normative behaviour. Education and school as an important form of organized influence, and a driving force, have been his key research interests throughout his professional life. He has some 160 scientific publications in articles, reports, and books. Wickenberg served for the past 20 years as a supervisor, and teacher in the advanced international training programme "Child Rights, Classroom and School Management" (2003–20) based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The program trained 800 professionals in the education sector from 25 different countries in the Global South. He has been a Guest Professor at three universities in Inner Mongolia, China. Wickenberg is one of the founders and former coordinator at the Child Rights Institute, CRI, at Lund University. CRI is a multidisciplinary advanced network within Lund University and the Nordic countries, with around 50 researchers from six faculties.Mimi Petersen, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University College Copenhagen, Denmark. Her research, teaching, and activist interests focus on children’s rights and the interplay between participation, citizenship, and empowerment. She has obtained in-depth practice and research experience, knowledge, and skills from practicing social work with children and young people in various country settings. She is an experienced researcher, teacher, supervisor, and project manager. Petersen is a member of the board of the Nordic Association against Child Abuse and Neglect, the research network entitled Child Rights Institute at the Lund University in Sweden, and its affiliated Ilisimatusarfiks Center for Children & Adolescent Research Environment in Greenland. She is the founder of the Nordic Network for Children’s Right to Participation in Social and Educational Work—Practice, Research, and Development. Petersen has published several journal articles and books on children and young people’s participation in social work and research in Nordic countries. Her most recent books are one with Kati Križ is titled Children and young people’s participation in child protection: International research and practice approaches” (Oxford University Press USA, 2023).

• Introduction.- Children´s participation and the role of spokespersons.- Good participation by children in official systems.- Children’s expectations and experiences of participation start in ECEC.- How Greenland is actively involving children in decision processes.- Children’s participation in child and family services A conceptual analysis.- Child participation in alternative conflict resolution processes in family law conflicts.- The capacity of Swedish legal cultures to enable a right to participation for children in custody cases: Insights from and in Sweden.- Participation as seen in children's perspectives and understanding.- Ethical and professional boundaries for child participation.- Participation by children from the perspective of the child.- The perspective of actors regarding possibilities and challenges in children's participation.- Students' participation and influence in school: How can we make visible and establish new norms in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Education Act in Sweden.- Collaborating with children: Intergenerational research encounters.- Conclusions and summary: The way forward towards empowering futures with participation.