Events

The Centre for Childhoods and Social Justice is delighted to welcome Professor Ann Skelton, one of the world’s leading children’s rights scholars and advocates, to deliver its 2026 Annual Lecture.

Armed conflict, climate change, democratic backsliding, inequality, displacement and rapid technological change are profoundly affecting children’s lives. They are also placing growing pressure on the international and domestic systems intended to protect children’s rights. In this lecture, Professor Skelton will examine how this wider global turbulence is weakening those systems and consider how the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child can remain a powerful and resilient instrument. In particular, she will explore how the Convention can be interpreted dynamically—responding to emerging threats and changing social conditions while remaining anchored in its fundamental commitments to children.

The lecture will be followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion.

Doing Justice to Children's Voices

Tuesday 3 November, 6:30-8:30pm at Watershed Cinema

How can we credit children as knowers of their own lives?

Children are often asked for their views, but are they recognised as credible knowers of their own lives? Join researchers, practitioners and young people for an evening exploring how children's voices can be better recognised in healthcare, education and social care.