The Convention on the Rights of the Child, including children's digital rights, forms the basis for the activities of the Child's Best Interest environment. Within the environment, there is a strong commitment to developing a child rights-based approach in the strategic communication of welfare sectors. In collaboration with key societal actors, we want to strengthen children's digital citizenship through research and education.

Background

In 2020 the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was incorporated into Swedish legislation. Children have the right to reliable and accessible digital communication, including information about the welfare and public sector’s missions and services. The right to information online is central to children’s digital citizenship. In 2021, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child added a general comment (no. 25) to the Convention, which stresses that children’s rights apply both offline and online. Researchers and stakeholders from the welfare sector agree that current child-rights law from 2020 is insufficient as changes in terms of new knowledge, and new ways of working in organizations are required. A call is made for more evidence-based research on integrating a child-rights approach into daily work. Currently, there is insufficient knowledge regarding how to develop and strengthen welfare sector communication from a child-rights perspective. 

Purpose and objectives

The Child’s Best Interest aims to strengthen the child rights perspective in welfare sector’s strategic communication in terms of research, education, and collaboration. Strategic communication includes everything from formulating goals, planning, target group analysis, type of media, content, and various forms of evaluation. The Child’s Best Interest focuses mainly on digital strategic communication, although other communication is considered. The welfare sector includes non-profit organisations and public sector (at national, regional and municipal level). 

Main objectives

  • To contribute with new theoretical and methodological (including ethical issues) knowledge and develop a new research subfield within strategic communication – with its child rights perspective.
  • To contribute with new knowledge on children's needs and expectations regarding welfare sector digital communication.
  • To contribute with new knowledge on the opportunities and limitations in organisational structures for strengthening children's rights in strategic communication in terms of resources, policies and working methods.
  • To contribute with new knowledge on how the welfare sector can implement and develop strategic communication from a child rights perspective. 

Collaboration

Do you see a need to strengthen the child rights perspective in your strategic communication? We work with all stages of the communication process, from aim formulation, media mix, design/layout to evaluation strategies.

Different forms of collaboration with the welfare sector is an important basis for our work through, for example, research projects, courses/training via knowledge-enhancing workshops and lectures. Please contact us if your organisation has questions about possible collaboration. 

The Forum for Social Innovation Sweden is a national knowledge and collaboration platform for social innovation and social enterprise in Sweden, based at Malmö University.

The Data Society research programme aims to advance the studies of digitalisation and datafication as pivotal change agents.