Project: Rejuvenate - Mapping and reconceptualising child and youth rights

Rejuvenate: Mapping and reconceptualising child and youth rights (in partnership with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS))

Led by Vicky Johnson

Funding: £52,000

The team at UHI and IDS set out to map participatory practice/theory and praxis in child rights field – with a question as to not just who had done or was doing what, but also what it would take to better embed child/youth participation in this work.

We analysed 100 ‘key’ journal articles from grey and published literature across global contexts (from 1990 forwards). 

We also spoke to 40 ‘expert’ thinkers/practitioners (32 in depth) – and in doing so tried to get a good spread of diverse contexts, disciplines, themes, and approaches.

Through our mapping process we created a ‘living archive’, of literature, projects, and people, which we are now building on, adding to, and hoping to use as a base to spark connections and dialogues.

The main aim of Phase 2 is to build on the mapping process we undertook in Phase 1 of this project and to consolidate and articulate the evidence on the efficacy of child, girl, and youth-led approaches. We also plan to utilise this evidence to continue the process of re-energising the field of child, girl, and youth rights in social justice processes.