The Observatory's events

The Observatory holds events related to children’s human rights implementation in Scotland.

Seminar on Children’s Rights Research with Young Children

In collaboration with the Children's Rights European Academic Network (CREAN, who funded the seminar) and the Children and Young People Thematic Hub, on 5 December 2024 the Observatory hosted a Seminar on Children’s Rights Research with Young Children: the potential and challenges of participatory methods.

The seminar shared practical examples of participatory research methods with young children, from Brazil, Greece, South Africa and Scotland.

Download the seminar slides

Alongside the seminar, various resources on participatory research methods with young children were crowdsourced from the Research Network distribution list.

The Observatory hosted another hybrid event on 13 November 2024 in Edinburgh, with a focus on accountability for children's human rights in light of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024. 

Read more about the Research Network on Children’s Human Rights 

After a welcome from Head of School Prof Carol Campbell and Prof Kay Tisdall, Minister Natalie Don-Innes MSP (Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise, Scottish Government) gave opening remarks.

Minister speaking notes

This was followed by a video created for the event by the Children’s Human Rights Defenders.

CHRD video

Professor Simon Hoffman (Professor of Law at Swansea University and Welsh Observatory of Children’s Rights), gave a lecture on Wales's experience of UNCRC incorporation and implementation.

Prof Hoffman speaking notes

Juliet Harris, Director of Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights), updated attendees on the #RightsOnTrack campaign. 

RightsOnTrack slides

The event ended with a panel on implementation and accountability after the UNCRC Incorporation Act, chaired by Prof Jennifer Davidson, Executive Director of Inspiring Children’s Futures, joined by:

  • Ellie Craig MSYP, Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament
  • Rosemary Agnew, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman
  • Councillor Tony Buchanan, Chair of COSLA Children and Young People board
  • Pamela Murray, Child Health Commissioner NHS Lothian

On 6 November 2024, the Observatory and the Improvement Service hosted a seminar on public financing for children’s rights (also known as children's rights-based budgeting), which gathered senior level finance staff from local authorities, health boards and other public bodies, Scottish Government and other interested stakeholders. 

The seminar was chaired by Prof Graeme Roy, Professor in Economics, Glasgow University. Speakers included:

  • Prof Jo Ferrie, Professor of Sociology, Glasgow University. Speaking notes
  • Alberto Musatti, Social Policy Specialist (Public Finance), UNICEF Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia
  • Prof Neil Craig, Professor of Public Health Economics, Glasgow Caledonian University 
  • Rebecca Spillane, Project Manager – UNCRC Implementation, Improvement Service. Speaking notes
  • Martin Booth, Executive Director of Financial Services, Glasgow City Council

Most of the seminar was recorded. Collated slides, including a summary of the group discussions, can be downloaded below. 

Public Financing for Children’s Rights November 2024 slides (slides will download locally)


The Research Network on Children’s Human Rights hosted a second event on 1st February 2024. It took place in-person at the Scottish Universities Insight Institute in Glasgow and ran all-day. Using the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the state of children's rights in the UK as a framework for discussions, the day saw a variety of researchers sharing their work on panels and taking part in lively exchanges.

The Research Network on Children’s Human Rights

UNCRC Concluding Observations (external link)

You can email us at childrens.rights@ed.ac.uk to be put on the mailing list to hear of upcoming events.


On 26 September 2023, the Observatory hosted a panel event on the right to play in Scotland at the Storytelling centre in Edinburgh. The panel discussed what the 2023 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s Concluding Observations mean for children’s right to play in Scotland, with a particular focus on ensuring all children have access to public play spaces.

UNCRC Concluding Observations (external link)

The panel was chaired by Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland Nicola Killean, with speakers including Theresa Casey (writer on play and children's rights, and past-President of the International Play Association), Marguerite Hunter Blair (Chief Executive of Play Scotland) and Natalie Don MSP (the Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise).

The event was part of the We Play festival which took place 23 September - 1 October 2023  and celebrated children's free play in Scotland in a beautiful pop-up play café combined with talks, workshops, storytelling, wellbeing activities, music and film. 


The Observatory hosted the launch of the new Research Network on Children’s Human Rights on Thursday 22nd June 2023, in an hybrid event which took place in the Paterson’s Land building on the University of Edinburgh Holyrood campus and online.

You can find a recording of the plenary sessions at the link below.

Launch recording 


The Institute for Inspiring Children's Futures (University of Strathclyde) organised a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course on Children’s Human Rights, in partnership with the Observatory of Children's Human Rights Scotland, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights), the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland and the Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law. The CPD course took place in March 2022 and was led by UN Committee on the Rights of the Child member Professor Ann Skelton.

Read the course’s flyer (external website) 

Each day's discussions were summarised in blogs.


The Observatory co-hosted a webinar titled ‘Implementing Children’s Rights in Scotland – Developing Systems of Child-Friendly Complaints, Remedy and Redress' on the 4 February 2021.

Find the recording and associated resources under the subheading 'Bringing children's rights into Scottish law'


Professor Kirsten Sandberg, University of Oslo, gave the Moray House School of Education and Sport Annual Lecture on 27 May 2020.  Professor Sandberg's lecture was followed by contributions from Mairi Macpherson, Deputy Director for Creating Positive Futures, Scottish Government and Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland.

Watch the recording of Making Children's Rights Real

View the lecture slides (3.68 MB / PDF)


The Observatory was launched on 28 February 2020, alongside Together's State of Children's Rights Report 2019. Over 80 people came to the University of Edinburgh to hear about the Observatory and Together’s report, and to help the Observatory plan its priorities for making children’s rights real.

Access the launch event’s summary 


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