Children’s Human Rights, and Community Learning and Development

On March 16th 2021, MSPs voted unanimously to make children’s human rights, as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), law in Scotland. We know that for many professionals in Scotland, including Community Learning and Development (CLD) practitioners, children’s rights are not present in their thinking or practice.

A Panel Discussion on Children’s Human Rights, and Community Learning and Development

On March 30th 2021 we hosted an hour-long webinar as part of Year of Childhood. The webinar was about Children’s Human Rights and Community Learning and Development. The aim of this event was to bring together experts in children’s human rights and CLD to consider, at this opportune moment, how we can draw connections between these two important fields of theory and practice.  

Webinar Recording (56 minutes)

The webinar comprised an online panel and Q&A with: 

– Dr Marion Allison, Director of CLD Standards Council. 
– John M Davis, Professor of Education at the University of Strathclyde. 
– Margaret Ledwith, Emeritus Professor of Community Development and Social Justice at the University of Cumbria. 
– Cathy McCulloch, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Children’s Parliament. 
 
The event was facilitated by Clare McGillivray, Children’s Parliament Board Member, Founder of Making Rights Real and Board Member of the International Association of Community Development (IACD), and was hosted live on Zoom. 

The event was led by Catherine Hendry and Mahaut Fornier, two students who were on placement with Children’s Parliament from Moray House. There was lots of interest in the event and the subject, with 150 people attending on the day. 

Questions from the live event

We got lots of great questions from the event attendees, many more than we could answers in 15 minutes. We will be sharing these with colleagues who are working and teaching in the fields of children’s human rights, and community learning and development.

Useful Links and Resources 

More information on Scotland’s Journey to making children’s rights law in Scotland: https://www.togetherscotland.org.uk/about-childrens-rights/monitoring-the-uncrc/incorporation-of-the-un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child/ 

The Wee Book of Promises, is a child-friendly version of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). You will find a copy here: https://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Wee-Book-of-PromisesChildrens-Parliament-2019.pdf  

An Unfeartie is an adult who respects and stands up for children and their rights. Become an Unfeartie here: https://www.childrensparliament.org.uk/unfearties/  

Together is an alliance of Scottish children’s charities that works to improve the awareness, understanding and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Find out more about Together and become a member here: https://www.togetherscotland.org.uk/about-us/                                 

The CLD Standards Council is the professional body for people who work or volunteer in Community Learning and Development. You will find their website here: https://cldstandardscouncil.org.uk/

Date: 2021
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