Children In a Turbulent World: Rights, Agency, and Public Participation

In a world marked by geopolitical conflict, climate change, weakening democracies, and growing inequality, the question of who shapes our future matters more than ever. This session focuses on an often-neglected group: children. Too often treated as passive recipients of adult decisions, children are increasingly showing themselves to be active participants in social and civic life ones whose voices and rights deserve to be taken seriously.

Drawing on childhood sociology, human rights frameworks, and theories of participation, this session explores how children exercise agency within — and against — systems of power that claim to protect them while leaving them out of key decisions. We examine how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child plays out in real-world settings across different political and cultural contexts. And we ask what genuine participation looks like for young people at a time when democratic norms are under pressure.

Papers in this session combine empirical case studies with fresh theoretical perspectives, challenging the assumption that adults alone should set the agenda in sociological research and policymaking. Together, they make the case for a more inclusive, rights-based understanding of global citizenship one that puts young people at the centre.