Two working groups continued their collaborative activities last year. The first started during ECER 2021 (Geneva-Online) around the difficult concept of 'participation rights'. A webinar was held in 2022, which led to a workshop at ECER 2023. From this, a team was formed to write a paper on the difficulty of translating the term 'participation' into different languages and how the meaning changes according to different national contexts. The second group was formed at ECER Hamburg 2019. Funding was successfully applied to establish an international network on children's human rights education, supported by the Swedish Research Council. Several articles were written, and some were presented at ECER 2024. The project has provided funding to invite new people to NW25.
A new reading group has been started on the topic of children's rights education in the climate crisis. The group meets on the last Friday of each month to reflect on and discuss what the climate crisis means for educators and children's rights education. The group is currently compiling the year's reading list.
This year, Network 25 launched a special call for ECER 2024 on 'Children's rights in times of instability and crisis - the role of education', which attracted much interest. More than half of the submissions addressed the topic more or less directly. Participants were enthusiastic about the very well-attended sessions and the professional chairing. They appreciated the quality of the programme and the challenging questions, which were asked thoughtfully and respectfully. Thanks to participants attending several sessions in the same network, discussions built on each other.
Finally, Zoe Moody was unanimously elected as the new Link Convenor, replacing Ann Quennerstedt, whose dedicated work within the network was widely recognised and applauded. Members acknowledged her commitment to continually improving the quality of the Network's contributions and discussions.