The Children Displaced Across Borders conference was hosted simultaneously with the University of Houston and examined the complex understandings and representations of displaced children, with the purpose of informing next steps for research, policy, and practice-driven interventions and solutions.

The broad variety of speakers at the event included academics, charities, governmental and non-governmental organisations, parliamentarians, community groups and young people. Real-time joint panel sessions with Houston were a highlight, with three panellists on each side of the Atlantic joining via video link in discussion of four central children’s rights themes.

John Griffiths AM, Labour AM for Newport East and Chair of the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee, National Assembly for Wales and Professor Helen Stalford of Liverpool Law School (picture credit - Eleri Williams of Swansea City of Sanctuary).  

Jane Williams, from the Wales Observatory said: “We have been working on child rights implementation for a long time with many partners but the variety of participants and scope of this conference were amazing. The international sessions were brilliant, but equally so were the contributions from local communities in Wales, with some inspirational examples of research and innovative practice. We look forward to continuing to work dynamically with conference participants to help address the challenges for and around displaced children from global to local levels.”

The event was organised by the Centre for Migration Policy Research, the Wales Observatory on Human Rights of Children and Young People at both Bangor and Swansea Universities and partners from the University of Houston.

Click here for more information about the Conference programme.