Violence, lack of family care and sub-standard education are among the many violations of child rights to be explored at the sixth annual Caribbean Child Research Conference being held October 19-20, 2011 at the Jamaica Conference Centre.
 
The conference will be held under the theme “Promoting Child Rights with Equity – Our Children in Post-Independence Times”. Jan Vandemoortele, an international expert on child rights, economics and social policy will deliver the keynote address on “Equity Begins with Children.”
 
Adult participants from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Guyana will present wide-ranging research on the first day. Panel discussions will focus on issues affecting the most vulnerable children, including measures to make schools more child-friendly and to prevent and reduce violence. Additionally presentations will be made on other topics such as child participation, health and well being and child-centered policy.
 
The Conference seeks to not only address issues related to children but involve children in a meaningful way in the discussion. As such, secondary school students will present their own research on the second day of the conference with the top presenter being recognized as the Outstanding Child Researcher. The top three winners of the primary school essay writing competition on child rights will also have an opportunity to share on this occasion.
The conference’s focus on equity comes with growing recognition worldwide by UNICEF and other child-focused entities that development goals cannot be met without paying greater attention to the most vulnerable and marginalized populations.
 
Each year, the multi-disciplinary Caribbean Child Research Conference aims to share the most current research on children, strengthen the network of researchers on children’s issues, and encourage research both in priority areas as well as those that are often under-researched. Additionally it hopes to inform the policy formulation and implementation process in the Caribbean region through published findings.
 
The conference is staged by the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), UWI Mona, in association with the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Child Development Agency (CDA), Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA), Early Childhood Commission (ECC), Caribbean Child Development Centre (CCDC), Jamaica Coalition on the Rights of the Child (JCRC), and the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) and UNICEF. The conference is financially supported by UNICEF and the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ).