Upcoming report spotlights children’s right to be heard
Barn & unge
27 jan 2025
The four year-long projects on children’s and young people’s right to be heard in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is ramping up towards a closing conference in June and a final report. Both the conference and the report will elaborate on: How can we make sure that children's and young persons’ voices are truly heard during times of crisis? What happens when decision-makers sideline some of the people most affected by significant societal changes?
The Nordic Welfare Centre is developing a comprehensive report this spring that will examine children’s right to be heard from the perspective of the Nordic children’s ombudsmen. The report will be launched at a conference on June 4-5 in Helsinki. It will provide an unprecedented look at how the Nordic region addressed children’s participation during one of the most challenging periods in recent history.
The report will provide an analysis with key observations on lessons learned across Nordic countries and autonomous areas regarding compliance with Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, focusing on the right of children to be heard.
– By highlighting experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, we aim to offer insights that can help guaranteeing this fundamental right better in the future and especially during times of crisis, says Merethe Løberg, Senior Adviser at the Nordic Welfare Centre.
The offices of the children’s ombudsmen in the Nordic region are providing input to the report on the report and a Nordic analysis will be conducted by former chair of the The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Professor Emerita Kirsten Sandberg from the University of Oslo.
– The Nordic countries’ well-established traditions of human rights and social welfare services provide a favourable environment for progressive and impactful initiatives focused on children’s rights, says Professor Emerita Kirsten Sandberg.

Co-operation between children’s ombudspersons
The report is a joint project between the Nordic children’s ombudsmen’s offices and the Nordic Welfare Centre. The offices will produce country status reports using existing knowledge and experience from their countries, including input from and/or consultations with children and young people in the countries during and after the pandemic.
Professor Sandberg will present a Nordic analysis, identifying the most significant challenges and opportunities for improving children’s right to participation and influence. The report will conclude with recommendations on how to enhance children’s participation, address common challenges, and showcase good and promising practices, suggesting a unified approach to advancing children’s rights through joint efforts within the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council.
A child-friendly version of the report will also be produced, ensuring that the findings are accessible to the very population most affected by these insights.
Findings show children and young people are rarely consulted
The report will serve as a key follow-up to the project Nordic co-operation on children and young people’s opportunities for participation and development during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Findings from the project reveal that children and young people were rarely consulted or involved in decision-making processes during the pandemic and had little influence over their own lives. Existing participation structures, such as youth councils and organisations, were often overlooked or engaged too late, and children seldom interacted with decision-makers. There is also limited evidence of consultation when restrictions impacting their freedoms were implemented.
– This report is not just about documenting non-compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; it is about making Nordic cooperation on children’s rights stronger. The goal is to make sure that all children in the Nordic region have the best possible living conditions, says Merethe Løberg.
Throughout the four-year project period, young people have been engaged and involved, including through participation in the expert group, youth summits and workshops.

– Young people’s voices have been central in the process as well as in decisions and results. This way of working has helped ensure that the recommendations are relevant and meaningful to those directly affected, says Merethe Løberg.
Two more reports will be launched at the end conference in June, a study by the University of Iceland on student councils’ role in promoting engagement and a report on the importance of youth participation in leisure activities, drawing lessons from the pandemic.
Back-to-back conference in Helsinki in June
A Nordic conference will be held on 4-5 of June 2025 in Helsinki, marking the end of the four-year Nordic co-operation project, on the consequences of the pandemic for children and young people’s right to be heard.
The results and recommendations of the project will be discussed at an onsite conference on 4 June, with invited guests. Representatives of the Nordic youth will be there, participating in discussions with experts and giving feedback on the project’s results.
On 5 June, an open online event will be arranged. We invite interested parties to join in and discuss together with experts how decision-makers can ensure that children and young people are meaningfully heard and involved in crisis management.
– We believe that the reports launched this spring and the conference will highlight the significant untapped potential for collaboration to drive innovative policies, share best practices, and strengthen advocacy for children’s voices, says Merethe Løberg.