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Colloquium 2017

Colloquium on the United Nations Covention on the Rights of the Child Implementation Project (CRC-IP)

Six smiling school children
Foto/ill.:
Colourbox

Hovedinnhold

The fourth annual colloquium on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Implementation Project (the ‘CRC-IP’) was arranged in Bergen in April 2017.

The topic of the Bergen 2017 colloquium was “UNCRC Article 2 - Ensuring non-discriminatory welfare practices for children – theoretical and practical perspectives” and the focus was Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The colloquium was funded by the Norwegian Research Council and organized by Professor Marit Skivenes and Karl Harald Søvig in collaboration with the Centre on Law and Social Transformation.

Colloquium programme

In-depth discussions will follow the papers throughout each day, and stakeholders from the legal profession and the government in Norway will be invited and will participate in the discussion sessions. The colloquium will be held at the University of Bergen at the Centre on Law and Social Transformation in the room "Just Flaaland". For practical information regarding the venue, how to get there and the social events, please click here.  

We are expecting presentations from approximately 25 experts throughout the two-day colloquium.  This means that presentation timings will be strictly enforced. As previously advised, each contributor has been allocated “15 minutes of fame” (and we do mean that literally – as a matter of courtesy to all participants, every speaker will be limited to 15 minutes!).  

PowerPoint will be available for anyone wishing to use it.  We would ask that those using PowerPoint email their presentation slides to Susan Bahia Jensen by Monday 3rd April 2017.

If you have any food allergies or preferences, please let us know as soon as possible. Emails concerning allergies and preferences can be directed to assistant Susan Bahia Jensen

Please be aware that there might be changes in the program.

Monday, 3 April 2017 

19.00-22.00            

Evening reception and open seminar at the House of Literature Theme: Are Children Subject to Age Discrimination? Discussants: professor David Archard, associate professor Claire Breen, professor Marit Skivenes,professor Karl Harald Søvig and political advisor Andreas Borudfrom the Norwegian Children and Youth Council. Moderator: PhD student Line Marie Sørsdal

Drinks and light food will be served. 

Tuesday, 4 April 2016

08.30-09.00Registration with coffee and tea

09.00-09.30Words of Welcome and Opening Address: Professor Marit Skivenes andProfessor Karl Harald Søvig

09.30-09.45KEYNOTE 1: Professor Elaine Sutherland:Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child:Round Up the Usual Suspects

09.45-10.00  Dr. Ioana Cismas: The meanings of ‘sex' in the non-discriminationclause of the CRC

10.00-10.15Associate Professor Nicola Taylor: Children´s Views and Participation:Disparities between New Zealand¹s Out-of-Court and In-CourtFamily Dispute Resolution Processes

10.15-10.45  Questions and discussions 

Coffee and tea        10.45-11.15

11.15-11.45

KEYNOTE 2 – Norwegian Children’s Ombudsman, Anne Lindboe:Implementing CRC Article 2: A Child´s Ombudswoman´s Perspective

11.45-12.00Dr. Brian Sloan: Illegitimate Consequences of ‘Illegitimacy’?Article 2 UNCRC and Non-Marital Children in the British Isles

12.00-12.15Dr. Gillian Black: Birth and Status: The Ongoing Discriminationof Children in Scots law based on Parentage

12.15-12.30 Professor Tarja Pösö: Discrimination within child protection?The recognition of - and practice with - differences among childrenin Finnish child protection

12.30-13.00Questions and discussions

Lunch13.00-14.00

14.00-14.15Dr. Lize Mills: The Girl Child’s Right to Sanitary Health Care Products(with Comine Howe, not present)

14.15-14.30

Professor Jackie Heaton: Differentiating between same-sex andheterosexual minors for purposes of prohibiting underage/child marriage- A violation of  article 2 of the Conventionon the Rights of the Child?

14.30-14.45Associate Professor Malcolm Langford:Racial profiling in comparative perspective

14.45-15.15Questions and discussions with coffee and tea

15.15-15.30Professor Trynie Boezaart: Prioritising the beneficiaries of #FeesMustFall

15.30-15.45Senior Lecturer Alison Cleland and Senior Lecturer Khylee Quince:Racist constructs in child protection law in Aotearoa New Zealand

15.45-16.15Questions and discussions

17.00-18.00    

Drinks reception hosted by the Mayor of Bergen City. This receptionwill take place in the historical Schøtstuene. Schøtstuene is one of theoldest and most well-kept venues in Bergen, tracing all the way back to 1702. There will be served drinks and canapés.

18.00à              After a long and eventful day, some of us will stop by the Biblioteket barat Vetrlidsallmenningen 2, 5014 Bergen.

Wednesday, 5 April 

08.30-09.00Coffee and tea

09.00-09.15

KEYNOTE 3 – Former Chair (2013-2015),now general rapporteur of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and dr.juris; Professor Kirsten Sandberg: The monitoring of article 2 by the CRC Committee

09.15-09.30Professor Marit Skivenes: Discrimination due to migrant background?A study of the populations in 3 countries

09.30-09.45Professor David Archard:Respecting Age: Discrimination against the Young and the Old

09.45-10.15Questions and discussions

Coffee and tea10.15-10.45

10.45-11.00

Professor Karl Harald Søvig: CRC Article 2 andprotection of welfare services to migrant children

11.00-11.15Professor Huawen Liu: Implementation of CRC in China -especially on the relation between Art.2 of the Conventionand the welfare  system in the Country

11.15-11.45

Questions and discussions with snacks 

11.45-12.00

Professor Linda Elrod: Preventing the Best InterestAnalysis in Relocation Cases from Masking Gender Bias

12.00-12.15

Associate Professor Claire Breen: It's Ok to be Different: Embracing Children'sDifferences to Achieve Child Equality

12.15-12.45Questions and discussions

Lunch12.45-14.00

14.00-14.15

Professor Kelly Weisberg:Collateral Damage: An Update on the Failure of Failure-to-Protect Laws for Children’s Wellbeing 

14.15-14.30Professor Nancy Dowd: Achieving developmentalequality for all children *Presenting via Skype

14.30-15.00Questions and closing words 

18.30à

The Colloquium Dinner: Colonialen at the House of Literature, room Fossastova.

Expert contributors

We are delighted to welcome so many Child Law experts to Bergen. We are expecting presentations from approximately 21 experts throughout the two-day colloquium. Contributor biographies and title of presentation is available below.

  • Professor David Archard, School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
    Title: Respecting Age: Discrimination against the Young and the Old
  • Senior Lecturer Dr. Gillian Black, Edinburgh Law School, Scotland, UK.
    Title: Birth and Status: The Ongoing Discrimination of Children in Scots law based on Parentage
  • Professor Trynie Boezaart, Private law, University of Pretoria, South Africa. 
    Title: Prioritising the beneficiaries of #FeesMustFall
  • Associate Professor Dr. Clarie Breen, Faculty of Law, University of Waikato, New Zealand.
    Title: Disability, Discrimination and the Child's Right to Education
  • Senior Lecturer Alison Cleland, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
    Title: Racist constructs in child protection law in Aotearoa New Zealand (Cleland & Quince).
  • Lecturer Dr. Ioana Cismas, Law School, University of Stirling, Scotland, UK.
    Title: The meanings of ‘sex' in the non-discrimination clause of the CRC
  • Professor Nancy Dowd, David. H. Levin Chair in Family Law, Emeritus Director, Center on Children & Families, US
    Title: Achieving developmental equality for all children *Presenting via Skype
  • Professor Linda Elrod, Director of the Children and Family Center, School of Law, Washburn University, US. 
    Title: Preventing the Best Interest Analysis in Relocation Cases from Masking Gender Bias
  • Professor Jackie Heaton, Department of Private Law, University of South Africa, South Africa. 
    Title: Differentiating between same-sex and heterosexual minors for purposes of prohibiting underage/child marriage - A violation of article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child?
  • Professor Huawen Liu, Assistant Director at the Institute of International Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), China. 
    Title: TBA 
  • Associate Professor Malcolm Langford, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway. 
    Title: Racial profiling in comparative perspective
  • Dr. Lize Mills, Faculty of Law, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. 
    Title: The Girl Child’s Right to Sanitary Health Care Products (with Comine Howe, not present)
  • Professor Tarja Pösö, Social work, University of Tampere, Finland. 
    Title: Discrimination within child protection? The recognition of - and practice with - differences among children in Finnish child protection
  • Senior Lecturer Khylee Quince, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
    Title: Racist constructs in child protection law in Aotearoa New Zealand (Cleland & Quince)
  • Professor Kirsten Sandberg, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway.
    Title: The implementation of article 2 by the CRC Committee
  • Lecturer Dr. Brian Sloan, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, England, UK.  
    Title: Illegitimate Consequences of ‘Illegitimacy’? Article 2 UNCRC and Non-Marital Children in the British Isles
  • Professor Marit Skivenes, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Bergen, Norway
    Title: Discrimination due to migrant background? A study of the populations in 3 countries
  • Professor Elaine Sutherland, Child and Family Law, University of Stirling, Scotland and Distinguished Professor at Law, Lewis & Clark Law School, US. 
    Title: Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Round Up the Usual Suspects
  • Professor Karl Harald Søvig, Faculty of Law, University of Bergen, Norway
    Title: CRC Article 2 and protection of welfare services to migrant children
  • Associate Professor Nicola Taylor, Director of the Children’s Issues Centre, University of Otago, New Zealand.
    Title: Children¹s Views and Participation: Disparities between New Zealand¹s Out-of-Court and In-Court Family Dispute Resolution Processes 
  • Dr. Kelly Weisberg, Professor of Law, UC Hastings College of Law San Fransisco, US. 
    Title: Collateral Damage: An Update on the Failure of Failure-to-Protect Laws for Children’s Wellbeing

Invited sit-ins

  • Hege Helland, researcher, University of Bergen
  • Ida Juhasz, PhD student, University of Bergen
  • Line Sørsdal, PhD student, University of Bergen 
  • Camilla H. Olsen, PhD student, University of Bergen 
  • Lill Haukanes, PhD student, University of Bergen
  • Hilde Sætre, MA student, University of Bergen
  • Vilde Øvstetun, MA student, University of Bergen 
  • Kaja Eek-Larsen, MA student, University of Bergen
  • Oda Krogh Læret, MA student, University of Bergen 
  • Susan Jensen, project assistant, University of Bergen

Opening adress and keynotes

Opening adress

The colloquium will begin with an opening address from the CRC-IP hosts Professor Marit Skivenes and Professor Karl Harald Skivenes. 

Professor Marit Skivenes: 

Marit Skivenes has a Ph,D. degree in Political Science from 2002 (University of Bergen), and has since August 2012, been employed as professor the Department of Administration and Organization Theory at the University of Bergen, and as professor II (20%) at the Department of Social Education at Bergen University College. Prior to this she has worked as a researcher at the Uni Rokkan Centre and at FAFO, and as associate professor at the Centre for Child Welfare at the University of Bergen in her post-PhD career.

Professor Karl Harald Søvig

As a researcher, Søvig has focused on the use of coercion within the field of Welfare Law, with focus on substance abuse addiction, pasients in psychiatric care and child protection services. His primary interests are biomedical law, social law, constitutional law and administrative law

Keynote speakers 

Tuesday, 4. April 

Professor Elaine Sutherland: "Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Round Up the Usual Suspects"

In 2012, Sutherland founded the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Implementing Project (CRC-IP) to explore implementation of the UNCRC in its international and comparative contexts. Professor Sutherland teaches and researches at Stirling University for half of the year (January to June) and spends the other half of the year doing much the same at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon. Her primary interests are in the areas of child and family law. 

Anne Lindboe: "Implementing CRC Article 2: A Child´s Ombudswoman´s Perspective"

Linboe is the Norwegian Children´s Ombudsman (2012-2018). As Ombudsman she is an advocate for children and young people, and work to uphold the rights of children. Lindboe is also a pediatrician and has worked as a researcher for the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. 

Wednesday, 5. April 

Professor Kirsten Sandberg: "The monitoring of article 2 by the CRC Committee"

Kirsten Sandberg is a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the child since 2011, serving as the Committee's chairperson 2013-2015 and now its general rapporteur. She is Professor at the Department of Public and International Law, University of Oslo. Her research focuses on child law and children's rights.

Networking and social information

We are delighted to advise three special networking/social events organised for the experts presenting papers at the colloquium: 

Monday 3 April 2017

Tuesday 4 April 2017

  • 17.00-18.00: CRC-IP Bergen 2017 Drinks reception with the Municipal of Bergen. The reception will take place in the historical Schøtstuene. Schøtstuene is one of the oldest and most well-kept venues in Bergen, tracing all the way back to 1702. The reception has kindly been provided by the Municipality of Bergen. There will be served drinks and canapés.
  • 18.00à: Informal drinks at Biblioteket Bar 

Wednesday 5 April 2017

  • 18.30: CRC-IP Bergen 2017 Colloquium dinner at Colonialen Litteraturhuset Brasserie, room Fossestova. The dinner is a pre-ordered three course dinner. Please let us know if you have any allergies or food preferences. 

Bergen – where to stay and what to do

The Venue: Centre on Law & Social Transformation

The colloquium will take place at the Centre on Law & Social Transformation. The Centre on Law & Social Transformation is profoundly interdisciplinary, bringing together scholars, students and practitioners from across institutions and academic fields around questions related to the functioning and effects of law and legal institutions. Particular focus is on the use of law and legal mobilisation in pursuit of social transformation (lawfare) and the consequences of such strategies. The centre has its own child rights unit which aims to understand the role of law and administrative, political and judicial institutions (which appear to be important in states such as Finland and Norway) as well as ideas, interpretations and practices around children´s rights that are embedded in societies cultural practices. For more information about the Centre on Law & Social Transformation, click here

The centre is situated on University campus and is only a short walk from the city centre and the Scandic Hotel Bergen City. 

Address: Jekteviksbakken 31, 5006 Bergen. 

University of Bergen

The University of Bergen is a young, modern university. There are about 14,500 students enrolled, and 3,200 faculty and staff. The University of Bergen is Norway's urban university who is intricately woven into thegeographical, historical and cultural framework of the city, with 14,500 students and 3,200 faculty and staff.The University's academic landscape is characterised by its great variety and breadth. Six faculties cover most of the traditional university disciplines. Within the faculties are included 60 different specialised departments, centres and institutes.

UiB has most of its premises concentrated in two areas. Årstadvollen is the University's "health campus", where dentistry, medicine and health-care lie close to the Haukeland and Haraldsplass university clinics. Natural and social sciences, psychology, the arts and law are taught at Nygårdshøyden, a mixture of houses, shops and seats of learning. Most of its premises are concentrated in the heart of the city of Bergen.

As is it concentrated mainly in the heart of the city, it is only a short walk from the city centre and the hotel, Scandic Hotel Bergen City. 

Information regard Wireless Internet on campus 

For guests affiliated with norwegian or foreign institutions participating in the eduroam cooperation, we strongly recommend that eduroam wireless network is used instead of uib-guest. Eduroam is a more secure and better service!

However, UiB has a free wifi network for guests who are not able to connect to Eduroam. For more information about how to connect to this network, please click here 

Bergen City

Bergen is Norway's second largest biggest city with its 277 391 inhabitants. Being a hanseatic city, Bergen is a city with great culture and strong traditions. The city is known for it's seven mountains and the constant rain (approx. 231 days a year). With it's 30 000 students, Bergen is one of Norway's largest university cities.