Unlocking Children’s Rights: Strengthening the capacity of professionals in the EU to fulfil the rights of vulnerable childrenFor children and young people, the decisions made in family court and other judicial proceedings can have a significant, long-term impact on their well-being, development and future outcomes. International standards, and many national laws across Europe, recognise that children and young people have a right to express their views and to have their wishes and feelings reflected in decisions affecting them. However, at present these rights are far from being realised due in part to a lack of skills and knowledge among professionals over how to communicate effectively and sensitively with children, and how to help them participate meaningfully in decisions affecting them.
Coram Children’s Legal Centre has worked to change law, policy and practice to ensure that children’s rights are fulfilled in family and wider justice proceedings in the UK and abroad for over 25 years. To this end, the CCLC has recently been awarded a grant by the EU’s Fundamental Rights and Citizenship fund for a two-year project to research and develop training on child friendly communication skills and child rights informed practices for professionals and practitioners working in justice proceedings, residential care and detention.
The project, titled Unlocking Children’s Rights: Strengthening the capacity of professionals in the EU to fulfil the rights of vulnerable children involves organisations from ten European countries, including England. We will be working with Coram Voice, FICE Bulgaria, Czech Helsinki Committee, the University College Cork, Children of Slovakia Foundation, Estonian Centre for Human Rights, European Roma Rights Centre (Hungary), Fondazione L’Albero della Vita (Italy), Nobody’s Children (Poland), Social Educational Action (Greece), and FCYA Hungary.
Over the two years, the partners will research and develop training on age-appropriate, child-friendly communication skills and child rights informed practices for professionals and practitioners working with children in justice proceedings, residential care and detention. We will be conducting a two-stage pilot and review of the training with over 920 professionals from the ten countries. Most importantly, the training modules will be developed by an inter-disciplinary team of key experts, including groups of children and young people in the 10 countries.
When the project is completed, it will achieve sustainability by leaving behind a comprehensive learning system, including face-to-face training, e-learning packages and an online knowledge-sharing resource for professionals. This innovative system and resources will be adaptable across all of the EU Member States. An accompanying advocacy and dissemination guide will be developed to identify how training can be integrated into existing sector training, registration and accreditation systems across the EU.About Coram Children’s Legal Centre Coram Children’s Legal Centre works in the United Kingdom and around the world to promote, protect and implement the rights of the child and to assist Governments, IGOs and NGOs with implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Our renowned International Policy and Programmes Department has a strong record of success, and has worked with UNICEF, UN Women, other IGOs and international agencies in over 30 counties in the past 16 years. The Centre specialises in carrying out situation analyses, research and assessments of children’s rights and gender issues to inform programming, strategic development and assisting governments and NGOs to implement the CRC and CEDAW through training, development of national monitoring systems, assistance with reporting to UN Committees as well as working with governments on the reform of policy, law and practice, programming and budget development. The Centre also has on the ground experience, establishing practical programmes to implement children’s and women’s rights, including establishing a national network of services for trafficked and exploited girls, developing child protection services, legal aid services for women and children and diversion programmes for children in conflict with the law.
Coram Children’s Legal Centre has worked to change law, policy and practice to ensure that children’s rights are fulfilled in family and wider justice proceedings in the UK and abroad for over 25 years. To this end, the CCLC has recently been awarded a grant by the EU’s Fundamental Rights and Citizenship fund for a two-year project to research and develop training on child friendly communication skills and child rights informed practices for professionals and practitioners working in justice proceedings, residential care and detention.
The project, titled Unlocking Children’s Rights: Strengthening the capacity of professionals in the EU to fulfil the rights of vulnerable children involves organisations from ten European countries, including England. We will be working with Coram Voice, FICE Bulgaria, Czech Helsinki Committee, the University College Cork, Children of Slovakia Foundation, Estonian Centre for Human Rights, European Roma Rights Centre (Hungary), Fondazione L’Albero della Vita (Italy), Nobody’s Children (Poland), Social Educational Action (Greece), and FCYA Hungary.
Over the two years, the partners will research and develop training on age-appropriate, child-friendly communication skills and child rights informed practices for professionals and practitioners working with children in justice proceedings, residential care and detention. We will be conducting a two-stage pilot and review of the training with over 920 professionals from the ten countries. Most importantly, the training modules will be developed by an inter-disciplinary team of key experts, including groups of children and young people in the 10 countries.
When the project is completed, it will achieve sustainability by leaving behind a comprehensive learning system, including face-to-face training, e-learning packages and an online knowledge-sharing resource for professionals. This innovative system and resources will be adaptable across all of the EU Member States. An accompanying advocacy and dissemination guide will be developed to identify how training can be integrated into existing sector training, registration and accreditation systems across the EU.About Coram Children’s Legal Centre Coram Children’s Legal Centre works in the United Kingdom and around the world to promote, protect and implement the rights of the child and to assist Governments, IGOs and NGOs with implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Our renowned International Policy and Programmes Department has a strong record of success, and has worked with UNICEF, UN Women, other IGOs and international agencies in over 30 counties in the past 16 years. The Centre specialises in carrying out situation analyses, research and assessments of children’s rights and gender issues to inform programming, strategic development and assisting governments and NGOs to implement the CRC and CEDAW through training, development of national monitoring systems, assistance with reporting to UN Committees as well as working with governments on the reform of policy, law and practice, programming and budget development. The Centre also has on the ground experience, establishing practical programmes to implement children’s and women’s rights, including establishing a national network of services for trafficked and exploited girls, developing child protection services, legal aid services for women and children and diversion programmes for children in conflict with the law.
