Professor Aoife Daly

Aoife teaches and researches children's rights, particularly their environmental rights, and is the author of Children, Autonomy and the Courts (Brill, 2018). She enjoys teaching children about human rights through art.

Dr. Nabin Maharjan

Nabin holds a Ph.D. in Child and Youth Studies from Brock University, where his thesis focused on Nepali Youth’s Community Participation in the Post-Disaster Context of Nepal. His academic teaching and research interests are in the area of children’s rights, youth socio-political participation, and participatory action research.  

Liesl Muller

Liesl obtained an LLB and LLM from the University of Pretoria, and an LLM from the University of the Witwatersrand. Liesl has more than 10 years’ experience in human rights law practice and strategic litigation including children’s rights litigation.

Emily Murray

Emily completed her BMSc in Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences and Global Development Studies at Western University and her MSc in Global Health at McMaster University. Her research and education experiences are quite interdisciplinary, ranging from Indigenous-settler relations to ecological and emotional education. Her PhD research is focusing on children's rights and the right to a healthy environment. 

Dr. Florencia Paz Landeira

Florencia holds a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the National University of San Martín. Her university teaching and academic research focus on childhood policies and children's rights, especially within socio-environmental conflict contexts. 

Esther Montesinos Calvo-Fernández

Esther holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from the Complutense University of Madrid, an M.A. in Geopolitics, Territory and Security from King’s College London, and a Master’s in EU Studies from the European Institute of Bilbao. Interested in social justice and human rights, her work experience spans academic, civil society, and EU institutional sectors, with a keen focus on promoting social inclusion, gender equality, migrants' rights, and youth engagement with politics.

Katie Reid

Katie holds an MSc in Childhood Studies and an MA (with Honours) in Social Anthropology and Sustainable Development from the University of Edinburgh. She is a practitioner and researcher with a focus on child and youth participation in decision-making processes related to climate change, the environment and biodiversity. 

Lindie Van Rensburg

Lindie holds a Master of Arts in Development Studies from Nelson Mandela University in South Africa, where her research focused on the pro-environmental behaviour of millennials. She brings extensive experience in higher education, having worked on, and assisted with a variety of projects of various sizes.

Orla holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Science from University College Cork and an MA in Environment, Development and Policy from the University of Sussex. Orla brings a wealth of experience having managed a portfolio of climate and sustainability themed projects across science policy, research and academic institutions. 

Dr Rachel Hoare is a lecturer in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies in Trinity College where she is the Director of the Centre for Forced Migration Studies and has been actively involved for a number of years with University of Sanctuary activities, including most recently, organising volunteer-led English conversation classes for refugees. Rachel is also an expressive arts psychotherapist working on a part-time basis with unaccompanied refugee minors on behalf of Tusla, the Irish Child and Family agency. Rachel’s research focuses on trauma-informed practice, the impact of friendships on the coping and resilience of refugee youth as well as the benefits of expressive arts practice.

Pernilla Leviner is a Professor in public Law with specific focus on welfare law and child law. Since January 2024, she is Vice Dean for Education. As a researcher, she's connected to the Stockholm Centre for the Rights of the Child, Stockholm University, a research centre dealing with child law and children’s rights with a strong focus on interdisciplinary perspectives. She's the director and also a board member of this centre. The Centre has a book series, the Stockholm Studies in Child Law and Children’s Rights, published by Brill Nijhoff of which she's the General Editor. Pernilla is also the editor of Nordisk socialrättslig tidskrift – Nordic Journal of Social Welfare Law. 

Margherita Paola Poto (Prof. Dr., she/her/hers) is a Research Professor at the Faculty of Law, UiT - The Arctic University of Norway and has taught Administrative Law for more than twenty years at the University of Turin, Italy. Her research and education foci are at the intersection of planetary health, emotional and ecological literacy, indigenous law and methodologies. She has a passion for the ocean and is committed to contributing to law through creativity and inclusivity. She is currently coordinating the ECO_CARE project, the The Ocean Incubator Network, and is part of the educational program Follow Your Heart.

Laura Wright, PhD, is a Lecturer in Childhood Studies, University of Edinburgh. Laura's research and practice over the last two decades has used play and arts-based participatory methods in partnership with children, youth, and adults to explore and engage in children's rights, meaningful participation, child protection, play, intergenerational partnerships, social justice, mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in Canada, South and Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, East, West, and South Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. She is passionate about meaningful collaboration for positive change and is active on several global research projects (e.g. International Canadian and Children's Rights Research Partnership, Mobile Arts for Peace), networks (e.g. co-founded Arts Play Health Community), hubs (e.g. Co Lead Childhood and Youth Theme CAHSS), and committees globally.

Erin Daly is Professor of Law and Director of the Dignity Rights Clinic, Widener University Delaware Law School. She has written extensively about comparative and constitutional law and human rights, focusing on the ways in which the law could and should protect and promote the right of every person, everywhere to live with dignity. She is the author of Dignity Rights: Courts, Constitutions and the Worth of the Human Person (2013, 2020), and the co-author of Dignity Law: Global Recognition, Cases, and Perspectives (2020), a casebook and Teaching Manual. She was worked on dignity-related projects and lectured in the United States and around the world on issues from environmental and climate rights, to voting and democracy, among other things.

Dr. Yuchen Wang undertakes interdisciplinary research across themes of inclusive education, children and young people’s participation, educational technology, and sustainable development. She has led projects funded by the UK ESRC, NERC, and British Council. Her co-edited book ‘Artificial Intelligence and Inclusive Education: Speculative Futures and Emerging Practices’ won the 2020 Springer Nature New China Development Award, and she is also a key contributor to the 3^rd edition of Scotland’s ‘National Framework for Inclusion’.

Karabo Ozah is the Director at the Centre for Child and a Lecturer in the Department of Private Law of the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The Centre for Child Law is an organisation that protects and promotes children’s rights through research, advocacy and strategic litigation.  

Helen Stalford is Professor of Law and founding member of the European Children’s Rights Unit at the School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool. Her work focuses on children’s experiences of and access to justice, particularly in a migration context, and she is particularly interested in how children understand and enforce their rights in everyday settings. She has led projects on behalf of a range of international, European and domestic agencies and her research is defined by its participatory methods that seek to bring children’s voices and perspectives to bear on decision-making.

John Wall is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Religion, and Childhood Studies at Rutgers University Camden. He is founding director of the Childism Institute, a global collaboration dedicated to challenging children’s historical marginalization by transforming scholarly, social, and political structures and norms. And he co-founded the Children's Voting Colloquium, an international organization of scholars and activists working to eliminate all age barriers to voting. He is a theoretical ethicist who works in political philosophy, post-structuralism, and children’s rights. He is the author of Give Children the Vote: On Democratizing Democracy (2021), Children’s Rights: Today’s Global Challenge (2016), Ethics in Light of Childhood (2010), and Moral Creativity (Oxford 2005). He is editor or co-editor of the Bloomsbury Handbook of Theories in Childhood Studies (2023), Exploring Children’s Suffrage (2022), Children and Armed Conflict (2011); Marriage, Health, and the Professions (2002); and Paul Ricoeur and Contemporary Moral Thought (2002 and 2016).

Dr Dina Lupin is an Associate Professor at the School of Law at the University of Southampton and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Centre for Environmental Law at the University of Macquarie. In their research, Dina examines the nature and role of fundamental legal values in the context of environmental decision-making, asking how these values ought to be redefined and interpreted in light of the interests of Indigenous Peoples and minority populations (including children). Dina's research looks at practices of epistemic injustice in law and policy-making and the ways in which those who are marginalised from these practices, resist silencing and unjust environmental processes. 

Vesselina specialises in strategic litigation. She works at the nexus of human rights and environmental law, where the climate and ecological crises affect fundamental rights, including the rights to life and to health. She works with all teams at ClientEarth to develop an approach integrating the protection of the environment and human rights, since every day shows these to be ever more inextricably entwined.

Sumaya Mohammed, an 18-year-old activist living in Cork, is a passionate advocate for climate action. As the co-founder of the Students Climate Action Network and Climate Youth Artivists, she has dedicated herself to driving change. Her journey in climate activism began at the age of 12 in her school, leading her to co-organise the major climate action protests in Cork.

Driven by her commitment to Climate Justice and to achieve fair climate education for all, Sumaya actively engages with numerous organisations and gives workshops to educational institutions ranging from 1st to 3rd level education. She is a member of the Somali climate youth advisory group, which was established following her participation in COP27. Additionally, Sumaya has actively participated in the local, national, and international levels of Fridays For Future.

My name is Thubelihle. I am 16 years old, from South Africa. My interest in children's rights and climate justice comes from my deep sense of empathy and concern for the well-being of others and the planet. I see these issues as fundamental to creating a better world for future generations. My values and experiences have also contributed to my passion for social and environmental justice. At school, I am part of the Environmental Club, the Human Rights Commission Club, the United Nations Youth Association Club and the Interact Club which are all, in a way, connected to climate justice and children’s rights. I chose this dolphin to represent me because of how similar we are in character: sociable, intelligent with a strong sense of curiosity and natural ability for communicating with others. Pink is also my favourite colour! 

Hai semua (hey everyone)! I’m Charmaine, a 17-year-old from Malaysia. I’m an advocate for Indigenous rights, particularly the rights of maritime-based indigenous peoples. I wrote a book ‘The Sea is Indigenous Land Too’ in collaboration with Dr Vila (Professor at Universiti Malaya) and Claudio (Photographer) to highlight the issues maritime-based indigenous peoples face. I’ve also been working with Save Rivers, creating educational content regarding the experiences, and importance of Borneo's Indigenous Communities on our forests/rivers/watersheds. I’m part of Youths United For Earth (YUFE), a Malaysian based ngo, and I’m involved in school climate campaigns where we managed to raise $50,000 for our Solar Panel Initiative, impose a policy saving 8000 single-use containers every month, and create a Composter Project. It’s little efforts that we can take as children and youth that measure up big time. Southeast Asia is where my heart (and mind) lies, so you'll also find me watching SEA-directed movies too frequently! 

I am Aitzaz, a 17-year-old from Balochistan, Pakistan. I am a young climate advocate and researcher, passionate about taking action against climate change. Beyond my studies, I volunteer for a local non-profit, where I'm involved in various projects focusing on child rights and climate resilience. I actively participated in relief efforts during the 2022 flood in Lasbela, and I recently secured a large grant to research climate adaptation policies in Pakistan, thanks to a project by the School of Leadership Foundation in collaboration with UNICEF and UNDP.

I am Agastya, a young, enthusiastic, and passionate 16-year-old teenager, nature wanderer, and passionate scuba diver from Delhi, India, dedicated to climate change advocacy and representing the voice of Indian children. Growing up in Delhi, known for its notorious air pollution, has been challenging. My interest in climate change has motivated me to explore the world through travel, observing nature, listening to people, and trying to learn about their experiences, such as a visit to Lakshadweep, where I saw the impact of climate change on the corals. Through internships with consulting firms and social enterprises, I have been able to work on climate initiatives and learn about solutions on offer. I strongly believe that climate change needs to become an integral part of the school curriculum in India and other developing countries. I believe that every contribution matters. Young people are not just the victims of climate change but can be powerful agents of change.

My name is Sneha and I am from Canada. I enjoy making art and getting involved in climate justice. I care a lot about the environment, because in recent years people have not been treating it well, leaving it worse for future generations. I would like to help in changing this so that the world can be better.  

I’m 13 years old and a member of the Children's Parliament in Morocco. I go to school in Rabat and I speak Arabic, French, English, Italian and some Spanish. I love travelling, reading, playing football and swimming. Climate change is one of issues close to my heart. As president of the Climate Change Club at school, I take the lead in raising awareness and inspiring action among my peers. My dedication to environmental issues reflects my deep concern for the future, particularly for vulnerable children who will be most affected by a changing climate. My dream is to become a doctor, not just any doctor, but one who specifically works with children in under-resourced communities and treating illnesses exacerbated by climate change. 

Hi, I'm Emilia, a 16-year-old Peruvian girl passionate about research and environmental activism. I love playing the ukulele, writing, swimming in the ocean, and hanging out with my friends! My goal is to study political science, later specialize in environmental sciences, and practice this career in my country, in the Peruvian jungle. But above all, I am my ideals: a world where our forests are considered subjects of law, as a tool to counteract the current climate crisis. This ideal, together with my passion for environmentalism and political science has led me to be part of the group of children and adolescents who, supported by the Legal Defense Institute (IDL), sued the Peruvian State in 2019 for its inaction in the face of climate change, a lawsuit which is still ongoing to this day. 

I am 16 years old, and I come from Nepal. I recently started high school and will be starting classes in August. I have been interested in children's rights and climate justice since studying environment science in school. I have also participated in ECCA Nepal's climate change programs and I am hoping to work in this field too.  I love to edit, shoot and make videos. I enjoy being in front of and behind the camera, and because environmental studies have been a part of my life for a long time, filming allows me to learn even more about the issues facing the environment. With that said, I would like to sign off by wishing everyone a happy day.  

I am an 11-year-old climate advocate, author, and podcaster from Nairobi, Kenya. Inspired by the beauty of nature and alarmed by the impact of climate change on my community, I am on a mission to make a difference. Through my podcast (Climate Gumzo with Alana), social media, and initiatives, I wish to spark meaningful action and share hope for a greener, more sustainable Africa and beyond. 

I'm 10 years old and live in Trinidad and Tobago—it's one of the coolest places to be! I love being outdoors, especially near the beach or hiking to waterfalls. My favorite things to do are swimming, reading, and doing science experiments. I'm really interested in children's rights and climate justice because my mom is an environmental planner, and she's always encouraging my siblings and me to learn about how climate change affects our islands. I'm a member of Green Enviro TT, a local NGO that promotes environmental stewardship in our communities. Since I joined, I've been learning about how climate change impacts our region and what we can do to make a difference. I'm also part of my school's Environmental Club, where we talk about ways to reduce our carbon footprint. I'm really interested in finding better ways to reach young people and share what I learn about climate justice, especially because small changes can make a big difference for our islands.