Building a Sustainable Society Through Child Participation

This open access volume analyses the conditions needed for greater participation of children in social change and development, focusing on Nordic countries. With the idea that citizens of future societies are best placed to envisage their ideal future, and that societies must receive children’s trust and participation, the volume looks at existing social, legal, and economic norms, and discusses the various challenges at the institutional and societal levels in involving children. The contributions consider the perspective of children and of other actors in the process. The editors and authors begin with the premise that the lack of a functioning collaboration between children as actors and institutional actors who are supposed to work with/for children can lead to serious consequences, such as a lack of trust in society’s representatives and in the legitimacy of legislation. The volume draws empirical evidence and discussion points from cases of children’s participation in family litigation, school regulations and related areas in various Nordic countries. It therefore shows the path to the rest of the world towards a more equitable and just future involving children’s active participation in their and society’s future.  

Author Biography

Anna Sonander, PhD, is Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Law, Faculty of Social Sciences, Lund University. Her research concerns how professional actors in their work with children are affected by and relate to various factors such as legislation, organizational culture and resources.  Sonander has for many years been one of the coordinators of the Child Rights Institute at Lund University and was one of the organizers for the conference: Empowering Children and Youth through Law and Participation, which gathered participants from 13 different countries. Together with colleagues at LU, Sonander is working to build a strong research environment on children’s voices, rights and development.

Per Wickenberg, PhD, is Professor in the Sociology of Law, at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Lund University. His research focuses on norms and norm-creating processes in organizations, and he has a deep interest in norm-supporting structures, as well as in leadership, expectations, and normative behaviour. Education and school as an important form of organized influence, and a driving force, have been his key research interests throughout his professional life. He has some 160 scientific publications in articles, reports, and books. Wickenberg served for the past 20 years as a supervisor, and teacher in the advanced international training programme “Child Rights, Classroom and School Management” (2003–20) based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The program trained 800 professionals in the education sector from 25 different countries in the Global South. He has been a Guest Professor at three universities in Inner Mongolia, China. Wickenberg is one of the founders and former coordinator at the Child Rights Institute, CRI, at Lund University. CRI is a multidisciplinary advanced network within Lund University and the Nordic countries, with around 50 researchers from six faculties.

Mimi Petersen, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at the University College Copenhagen, Denmark. Her research, teaching, and activist interests focus on children’s rights and the interplay between participation, citizenship, and empowerment. She has obtained in-depth practice and research experience, knowledge, and skills from practicing social work with children and young people in various country settings. She is an experienced researcher, teacher, supervisor, and project manager. Petersen is a member of the board of the Nordic Association against Child Abuse and Neglect, the research network entitled Child Rights Institute at the Lund University in Sweden, and its affiliated Ilisimatusarfiks Center for Children & Adolescent Research Environment in Greenland. She is the founder of the Nordic Network for Children’s Right to Participation in Social and Educational Work—Practice, Research, and Development. Petersen has published several journal articles and books on children and young people’s participation in social work and research in Nordic countries. Her most recent books are one with Kati Križ is titled Children and young people’s participation in child protection: International research and practice approaches” (Oxford University Press USA, 2023).