Introduction
The Children’s Rights Research Fund is affiliated with Maastricht University and the University Fund Limburg (SWOL). It aims at supporting research and education projects in the field of children’s rights by staff and students from Maastricht University, with an option to cooperate with third parties. The Fund will make grants available once a year.
Applications by Maastricht University staff and students can be submitted for
- A research project with a maximum of € 5000,-.
- An education project with a maximum of € 2500,-.
Projects may take place in The Netherlands or in other countries. Collaborations with people or organizations are welcomed. However, applications should involve at least one Maastricht University student or staff member.
Funding criteria
The application (max. 3 pages A-4) must describe the goal(s) of the project, the time-line, the way it will be implemented and its intended outcome. In addition,
- At least one of the goals of the project should aim at improving the living situation of children;
- As for research projects, the involvement of and participation by children is required. Projects without any involvement of children will not be eligible for funding;
- As for education projects, there should be a strong emphasis on stimulating children to think and act creatively, critically and with a problem-solving orientation. Applications aimed at passive learning will not be eligible for funding;
- It must indicate which third party will be involved in the project, if any;
- For research projects a short explanation of the methodology must be provided;
- An estimate of costs and revenues must be attached.
The deadline for the call in 2024 was 1 April 2024.
The jury was composed of Prof Fons Coomans (chair), Dr Philip Veerman, Mrs. Christiane Verfuurden and Prof Andrea Broderick, members of the Advisory Board of the Children’s Rights Research Fund.
Decision
For the 2024 call 8 applications have been submitted, six by students and two by members of the staff of Maastricht University. The Jury has decided to award two applications with a grant. Hereafter it will briefly explain the reasons underlying these decisions.
Title of the Project:
The Right to Research Transnational Sibling Relationships: a co-research project with Ghanaian background youth in Germany.
Submitted by Dr Laura Ogden, member of the staff FASOS.
This proposal addresses the research gap on young people’s transnational sibling relationships through a co-research project with Ghanaian migrant children and youth, embedded in children’s right to participation (or ‘right to research’) and the rights of siblings. Through a series of workshops in Hamburg, co-researchers will receive training in research methods and conduct mini-research projects in collaboration with the PI. The project will result in a website presenting research results and a journal article, while contributing to building a research agenda about migrant youth’s intra-generational kinship, for which future funding will be sought.
The Jury is positive about this project proposal. The topic (transnational sibling relationships between young people in Germany and Ghana) is innovative and topical. The project is embedded well in a children’s rights framework. The way the research will be carried out (through co-research with migrant youth) is appealing and also interesting from a methodological point of view. However, the Committee also sees challenges, such as the meaning of the term ‘right to research’ in terms of right-holders and duty-bearers and its operationalization. In addition, the way the project will be carried out in the mini-research projects and the training of the young co-researchers need further thought and elaboration in particular with respect to the research skills that are required and how to teach these to young people.
The Committee has decided to grant € 2350,- for this project.
Title of the Project:
The Rights of Children Who Lost Their Land: Investigating Protection under Article 39 CRC for Children from the Republic of Artsakh.
Submitted by: Rebekka Wernicke, student Faculty of Law
The focus of this proposed research project is the children from the Republic of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno Karabakh), whose legal status as part of a displaced population, as well as access to rights including education, healthcare, food, housing, and identity remains uncertain.
In the week following 19 September 2023, 30,000 children fled the territory of the Republic of Artsakh into Armenia.
This project is about the practical meaning of Article 39 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child for children that used to live in a de facto state, namely the territory known as Nagorno Karabakh. Article 39 of the UN Children’s Rights Convention (CRC) holds the obligation for state parties to ‘take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of: (...) armed conflict’.
The goals of this project are, firstly, to research what specific measures (falling under Article 39 CRC) the Armenian government has taken for the protection and development of the children forced to flee Artsakh. Secondly, to hear and understand from the children themselves how they have experienced such measures. This includes both the short-term measures such as the refugee response plan, and the longer-term measures, for example those relating to education and social integration.
The Committee finds this project interesting, practical and very timely. It deals with a group of children for which the international community has little attention, because they used to live in a territory whose status as a de facto state is disputed. This has also consequences for the opportunities of these children to enjoy internationally recognized human rights. The particular value of this project is holding interviews with the children concerned aimed at listening to their experiences and assessing whether the measures taken by the authorities have been sufficient to protect their rights in light of the obligations of Article 39 CRC. These interviews will be conducted in collaboration with members of a local children’s rights research team. The Committee advises to think through and elaborate the method of holding interviews with vulnerable children, such as the training of the local interviewers.
The Committee has decided to grant € 2470,- for this project.
On behalf of the Jury,
Prof Fons Coomans, Chair
26 April, 2024
