scholarly journals Integrating Sustainable Development and Children’s Rights: A Case Study on Wales

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Rhian Croke ◽  
Helen Dale ◽  
Ally Dunhill ◽  
Arwyn Roberts ◽  
Malvika Unnithan ◽  
...  

The global disconnect between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), has been described as ‘a missed opportunity’. Since devolution, the Welsh Government has actively pursued a ‘sustainable development’ and a ‘children’s rights’ agenda. However, until recently, these separate agendas also did not contribute to each other, although they culminated in two radical and innovative pieces of legislation; the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure (2013) and the Well-being and Future Generations (Wales) Act (2015). This article offers a case study that draws upon the SDGs and the CRC and considers how recent guidance to Welsh public bodies for implementation attempts to contribute to a more integrated approach. It suggests that successful integration requires recognition of the importance of including children in deliberative processes, using both formal mechanisms, such as local authority youth forums, pupil councils and a national youth parliament, and informal mechanisms, such as child-led research, that enable children to initiate and influence sustainable change.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6385
Author(s):  
Janire Fonseca Peso ◽  
Antonia Caro González ◽  
Nemanja Milosevic

The aim of this paper is to collect evidence-based experience on a co-creation multi-stakeholder participatory process in a non-formal academic environment. We use the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the “6i model,” and a participatory approach as background methodologies. Within the long-lasting process of collaboration with Eurochild (Eurochild advocates for children’s rights and well-being to be at the heart of policymaking. A network of almost 200 organizations internationally recognized for its work to promote children’s rights and well-being. It influences policies, builds internal capacities, and facilitates mutual learning and exchanges of practice and research), the event started with an open session followed by a World Café dynamic with 50 participants from different age groups (13–81), cultures (Spain, United Kingdom, Finland), professions, academic fields, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Several types of data were collected: participant observation during four months (20 h), informal communication with participants, and three in-depth interviews. Based on overall analysis, the application of both the 6i model and the child participation approach had an impact on three different levels: (1) in the functioning of the core group; (2) in the experience of the participants in the event; and (3) in the final outcome of the whole process.


Author(s):  
Wendy M. Purcell ◽  
Heather A. Henriksen ◽  
Jack D. Spengler

Universities can do more to deliver against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), working with faculty, staff and students as well as their wider stakeholder community and alumni body. They play a critical role in helping shape new ways for the world, educating global citizens and delivering knowledge and innovation into society – universities can be engines of societal transformation. Here, using a case study approach, different ways of strategizing sustainability in a university setting are explored with an example from the UK, Europe and USA. The first case is a public UK university that adopted enterprise and sustainability as its academic mission to secure differentiation in a disrupted and increasingly marketized global higher education sector which then became a source of inspiration for change in regional businesses and the local community. The second case study is a business sector-led sustainability-driven transformation working with a private university in Bulgaria to catalyze economic regeneration and social innovation. Finally, the case of Harvard’s Office for Sustainability engagement program is given to show how this approach connects faculty and students with institutional sustainability plans and external partners.  Each case is a living lab, positioning sustainability as an intentional strategy. Leadership at all levels, and by students, was key to success in acting with purpose. Partnerships within and with universities can help accelerate delivery of the SDGs, with higher education making a fuller contribution to sustaining the economic, cultural and intellectual well-being of our global communities. 


Author(s):  
Ursula Kilkelly

Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognizes the child’s right to health and health care. Despite its importance, surprisingly little international advocacy focuses exclusively on child’s health. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has addressed health and health care issues in many of its General Comments, but it has been surprisingly slow to adopt a General Comment dedicated to Article 24. There has also been an apparent disconnect between children’s rights law and the global development agenda. While the UN Sustainable Development Goals address many of children’s specific health needs, they do not mention the CRC and are not framed in rights terms. Although progress continues in advancing Agenda 2030, it is not clear whether greater progress would have been possible were these goals expressed as a matter of children’s rights. Overall, this process appears to be a missed opportunity to advance the child’s rights to health.


Author(s):  
Savitri Goonesekere

The chapter analyses children’s human rights as universal norms and standards incorporated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) that are relevant in diverse national contexts. Discussing national experiences and the quasi-jurisprudence of treaty bodies, the chapter argues that understanding the interrelated nature of the different groups of rights in the CRC is essential for effective implementation of these rights. It is suggested that the concept of the indivisibility of human rights and the global agenda of sustainable development reinforce the need for this approach. The chapter also discusses the interdependence, compatibility, and conflict between children’s rights and the human rights of other groups, such as parents, women, and a community with which a child connects as he or she grows to adulthood. The chapter argues that incorporating children’s rights in national constitutions, rather than ad hoc legislation, encourages this holistic approach to implementing children’s rights.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bingsheng Liu ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Jiaming Zhang ◽  
Xiaoming Wang ◽  
Yuan Chang ◽  
...  

AbstractAchieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a long-term task, which puts forward high requirements on the sustainability of related policies and actions. Using the text analysis method, we analyze the China National Sustainable Communities (CNSCs) policy implemented over 30 years and its effects on achieving SDGs. We find that the national government needs to understand the scope of sustainable development more comprehensively, the sustained actions can produce positive effects under the right goals. The SDGs selection of local governments is affected by local development levels and resource conditions, regions with better economic foundations tend to focus on SDGs on human well-being, regions with weaker foundations show priority to basic SDGs on the economic development, infrastructures and industrialization.


Author(s):  
Laura Ballerini ◽  
Sylvia I. Bergh

AbstractOfficial data are not sufficient for monitoring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): they do not reach remote locations or marginalized populations and can be manipulated by governments. Citizen science data (CSD), defined as data that citizens voluntarily gather by employing a wide range of technologies and methodologies, could help to tackle these problems and ultimately improve SDG monitoring. However, the link between CSD and the SDGs is still understudied. This article aims to develop an empirical understanding of the CSD-SDG link by focusing on the perspective of projects which employ CSD. Specifically, the article presents primary and secondary qualitative data collected on 30 of these projects and an explorative comparative case study analysis. It finds that projects which use CSD recognize that the SDGs can provide a valuable framework and legitimacy, as well as attract funding, visibility, and partnerships. But, at the same time, the article reveals that these projects also encounter several barriers with respect to the SDGs: a widespread lack of knowledge of the goals, combined with frustration and political resistance towards the UN, may deter these projects from contributing their data to the SDG monitoring apparatus.


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