Title: “What children say: Hearing the voices of children about their rights and needs”

Date: 12th May - 13th May 2016

Time: 10.00am to 4.00pm each day

Venue: The Richard Price Building, Singleton Campus, Swansea University

The symposium will, drawing upon research undertaken in the College, focus on hearing the voices of children concerning their rights and needs related to those rights. In particular, the symposium will consider:

• What children across Swansea are saying about what their ‘rights’ mean to them
• How children’s rights are understood and utilised by adults to support and enable children’s development and growth
• The ways in which rights-based approaches are influencing youth justice-related methods to achieve early intervention and prevention for children who are either within or on the cusp of entering the criminal justice system
• The nature of gaps in research, policy and practice concerning children’s rights and youth justice and how these can be tackled via research activity, collaboration, and knowledge-exchange

Day one of the symposium will centre on the presentation of findings from research, which has been undertaken in Swansea via the Criminology Multi-Agency Research Internship Programme. Additionally, the Wales Observatory on the Human Rights of Children and Young People will present on work that it is currently progressing with children and young people across Wales.

During day two of the symposium, a pragmatic approach to understanding the implications of what children are saying will be undertaken. Day two will be very much ‘hands on’ and will comprise of focused plenary discussions, thematic group work and the identification of future research and other types of collaboration between the University, children themselves and partner agencies.

The symposium will be opened by Professor Elwen Evans QC, Head of the College of Law and Criminology at Swansea University and will be addressed by a range of individuals including Professor Tracey Sagar, Head of the Department of Criminology, and key officials from, and children working with, partner agencies. A full schedule for the event will be made available in due course.

Spaces at this event are limited and, should you wish to attend, could you please e-mail the symposium Chair, Dr Anthony Charles, via: uncrc@swansea.ac.uk, stating your name, position, agency/work area and whether you have any dietary (refreshments and lunch will be provided) or access needs.

This event is the culmination of partnership activity and the College of Law and Criminology would like to thank Blaen y Maes and Hafod Primary Schools, Pentrehafod School and the City and County of Swansea for their support and co-operation in enabling the research which will be presented.