Children and Young People’s Rights: Formal and Informal Constructions of Citizenship, 2020-2023

This project undertook a international comparison of the civic expansion of children’s rights in four Western countries (including Wales), and explored how this can rebalance the civic deficits associated with childhood. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Child Friendly practitioners in nine different cities in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States of America about the design and implementation of the UNICEF child friendly cities initiative and how it connects to other local authority initiatives. A questionnaire survey was also conducted across a sample of schools in Wales. As this survey was undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, questions and responses provide a snapshot of the experiences of young people in Wales at this time. This survey also forms Sweep 8 of WISERD's Multi-Cohort Study (WMCS), a longitudinal study of young people in Wales which commenced in 2013.<p>WISERD celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Over time it has grown into an international research institute that develops the next generation of research leaders. Our research brings together different disciplines (geographers, economists, sociologists, data scientists, political scientists) to address important issues for civil society at national and international levels. Our social science core provides a strong foundation for working with other disciplines including environmental science, engineering and medicine to transform our understanding and approaches to key areas of public concern. Our aim is to provide evidence that informs and changes policy and practice. This Centre will build on all previous WISERD research activities to undertake an ambitious new research programme. Our focus will be on the concept of civic stratification. This is a way of looking at divisions in society by focusing on the rights and obligations and practices of citizens and the role of civil society organisations in addressing inequalities in those rights and obligations. We will examine and analyse instances where people do not have the same rights as others (for example people who are migrants or refugees). We will also look at examples of people and groups working together within civil society to win new rights; this is referred to as civic expansion. Examples might include campaigns for animal rights or concerns about robots and Artificial Intelligence. We will investigate situations where people have the same rights but experience differences in their ability to access those rights; sometimes referred to as civic gain and civic loss (for example some people are better able to access legal services than others). Lastly, we will explore how individuals and groups come together to overcome deficits in their rights and citizenship; sometimes referred to as forms of civil repair. This might include ways in which people are looking at alternative forms of economic organisation, at local sustainability and at using new technologies (platforms and software) to organise and campaign for their rights. Our centre will deliver across four key areas of activity. First our research programme will focus on themes that address the different aspects of civic stratification. We will examine trends in polarization of economic, political and social rights, looking at how campaigns for rights are changing and undertaking case studies of attempts to repair the fabric of civil life. Second, we will extend and deepen our international and civil society research partnerships and networks and by doing so strengthen our foundations for developing further joint research in the future. Third, we will implement an exciting and accessible 'knowledge exchange' programme to enable our research and evidence to reach, involve and influence as many people as possible. Fourth, we will expand the capacity of social science research and nurture future research leaders. All our research projects will be jointly undertaken with key partners including civil society organisations, such as charities, and local communities. The research programme is broad and will include the collection of new data, the exploitation of existing data sources and linking existing sets of data. The data will range from local detailed studies to large cross-national comparisons. We will make the most of our skills and abilities to work with major RCUK research investments. We have an outstanding track record in maximising research impact, in applying a wide range of research methods to real world problems. This exciting and challenging research programme is based on a unique, long standing and supportive relationship between five core universities in Wales and our partnerships with universities and research institutes in the UK and internationally. It addresses priority areas identified by the ESRC and by governments and is informed by our continued close links with civil society organisations.</p>本项目针对包括威尔士在内的四个西方国家的儿童权利的公民拓展（civic expansion of children’s rights）开展了国际比较研究，探讨了该举措如何重塑与童年时期相关的公民赤字（civic deficits）。研究团队对英国、欧洲及美国九座城市的儿童友好从业者开展了半结构化访谈（semi-structured interviews），围绕联合国儿童基金会（UNICEF）儿童友好城市倡议（UNICEF child friendly cities initiative）的设计与落地，以及该倡议如何与其他地方政府举措相衔接展开交流。研究团队同时针对威尔士境内的抽样学校开展了问卷调查。由于本次调查于新冠疫情（COVID-19 pandemic）期间开展，问卷问题与回复可作为彼时威尔士青少年生活境况的快照。本次调查同时作为WISERD多队列研究（WISERD's Multi-Cohort Study, WMCS）的第8轮调研，该纵向研究自2013年起持续追踪威尔士青少年群体。 WISERD今年迎来其十周年纪念。历经发展，该机构已成长为培养下一代科研领军人才的国际研究机构。本机构的研究汇聚多学科领域学者（地理学家、经济学家、社会学家、数据科学家、政治学家），致力于解决国家及国际层面的公民社会重大议题。以社会科学为核心的研究框架，为跨学科合作提供了坚实基础——我们将与环境科学、工程学、医学等领域携手，革新公众关切的关键领域的认知与研究路径。本机构的宗旨是提供可指导并优化政策与实践的实证依据。本研究中心将依托WISERD过往所有研究成果，开展一项极具前瞻性的全新研究计划。本次研究将聚焦公民分层（civic stratification）这一核心概念：其指通过聚焦公民的权利、义务与实践，以及公民社会组织在消解此类权利与义务不平等过程中所发挥的作用，来审视社会分化的研究视角。研究将检视并分析群体间权利不对等的案例，例如移民或难民群体；同时关注公民社会内部群体携手争取新权利的实践案例，此即前述的公民权利拓展（civic expansion），此类案例可包括动物权利保护运动，或针对机器人与人工智能（Artificial Intelligence）的权益关切议题。研究还将探讨群体享有同等权利但实际获取权利的能力存在差异的情形，此类情形被称为公民收益（civic gain）与公民损失（civic loss），例如部分群体相较于他人更易获取法律服务。最后，研究将探析个体与群体如何联合起来，弥补自身在权利与公民身份层面的缺失，此类实践也被称为公民修复（civil repair），此类实践可包括民众探索新型经济组织形式、推动本地可持续发展，或借助新技术（平台与软件）组织活动并为自身权利发声的路径。 本研究中心将在四大核心活动领域开展工作：其一，研究计划将围绕公民分层的各维度主题展开，我们将检视经济、政治与社会权利的极化趋势，探究权利保护运动的演变路径，并针对修复公民社会结构的实践开展案例研究。其二，拓展并深化与国际及公民社会群体的研究合作关系与网络，以此夯实未来开展更多联合研究的基础。其三，推出兼具吸引力与普适性的“知识转化”（knowledge exchange）计划，让研究成果与实证依据能够触达、覆盖并影响尽可能广泛的群体。其四，提升社会科学研究能力，培养未来的科研领军人才。所有研究项目都将与包括慈善机构在内的公民社会组织及本地社区等核心合作伙伴联合开展。本次研究计划范畴广泛，涵盖新数据采集、现有数据源挖掘利用以及多数据集关联分析。研究数据将覆盖从本地化精细研究到大型跨国比较研究的全谱系。我们将充分发挥自身优势，配合英国研究理事会联合体（Research Councils UK, RCUK）的重大科研投入项目。本机构在最大化研究影响力、运用多元研究方法解决现实议题方面拥有卓越的过往成果。这项兼具挑战性与吸引力的研究计划，依托威尔士五所核心高校间长期且紧密的合作关系，以及我们与英国及国际其他高校、研究机构的伙伴网络。本研究计划贴合经济与社会研究理事会（Economic and Social Research Council, ESRC）及各国政府划定的优先研究领域，并将持续保持与公民社会组织的紧密协作。