European Children's Rights Unit (ECRU)

Description

The European Children's Rights Unit (ECRU) is a research-intensive cluster located within the University of Liverpool's School of Law and Social Justice. Composed of experts in children's rights issues of global, European, and local importance, the ECRU has three main objectives:

• Assisting children in enforcing their rights.
• Contributing to the development of children's rights as an academic field of study.
• Providing expertise on the interaction between children's rights and other legal domains.

The ECRU's members are experienced in employing progressive and participatory research methods involving children. They also have a track record of building the capacity of practitioners and policy makers through training, consultancy, and strategic litigation, in order to facilitate the application of a children's rights-based approach to their work. The ECRU established and works closely with the Young People's Advisory Group (YPAG), a local body that enables children and young people to provide input into University of Liverpool research projects.

The ECRU's members are experts in a broad range of fields, including immigration and asylum, children's rights in legal processes, children and sport, education, criminal justice, Brexit, children's sexual and gender identity, child labour, and best interests decision-making.

ECRU hosts the Children in Theory Masterclass series, an open access platform with resources useful to anyone interested in understanding how theoretical methodologies from different disciplines (e.g. philosophy, history, sociology, political theory) can be used and implemented in research and practice, with a particular focus on their use for childhood and children’s rights studies.

Children and Childhood is a significant research theme within the University of Liverpool's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The University of Liverpool has a long-standing history of making meaningful contributions to improving the quality of life and outcomes for children, young people, and babies at local, national, and international levels.

The Children and Childhood research theme allows the ECRU to build upon existing research collaborations and explore new opportunities for cooperation with other centres of excellence across the University's faculties.

Its main opportunities are linked to the School’s International Visiting Research Fellowship programmes, and its Children’s Rights Lab is open to anyone who wants to join, including students, PhD researchers and academics.

Currently active

Yes

Offers funding

Yes, this infrastructure provides funding in the following categories:

Founding year

2011

Contact details

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Categorisation

Type

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University affiliation(s)

University of Liverpool
Liverpool

Partner Infrastructures

Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA)

The Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) is a UK charity committed to advancing education and learning in the field of socio-legal studies and to promoting research. The Association funds research, … read more about Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA)

Cardiff

Additional Partnerships

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital; Liverpool City Council; Liverpool Biennial; Invest in Children; The Social Brokers; UNICEF Child Friendly City Programme; UNICEF Research Network; Children’s Rights European Academic Network (CREAN), Switzerland; Human Development and Capabilities Association; Critical Children’s Rights Network