Introduction
The Children’s Rights Research (CRR) Fund is connected to Maastricht University and the University Fund Limburg (SWOL). It aims to support research and education projects by staff and students from Maastricht University in the field of children’s rights, with the possibility to cooperate with third parties. The CRR Fund makes grants available twice a year.
Applications can be submitted for
- A research project with a maximum of € 5.000,-.
- An education project with a maximum of € 2.500,-.
Projects may take place in the Netherlands or in other countries. Collaborations with people or organisations 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 timeline, the way it will be implemented, its intended outcome and, additionally, meet the following criteria:
- At least one of the goals of the project should aim at improving the living situation of children;
- For research projects the involvement of and participation by children is required. Projects without any involvement of children will not be eligible for funding;
- 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 first call in 2023 was 15 March 2023.
Eight applications have been received, all of them submitted by members of the staff of Maastricht University in cooperation with one or more third parties. No applications have been submitted by students from Maastricht University.
The jury was composed of Prof. Fons Coomans (chair), Dr. Philip Veerman and Mrs. Christiane Verfuurden. All the aforementioned are members of the Advisory Board of the CRR Fund.
Decision
The Jury decided to award four applications with a grant and not to fund the other applications. Hereafter the Jury will mention the projects that will be funded with a grant and briefly explains why the grant has been awarded.
- Title: Childhood and Legal Capacity. The case of institutionalised children in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, submitted by Dr Julieta Marotta (Maastricht University) and Laura Lora, Paula Noelia Bermejo & Rosario Martinez (Universidad de Buenos Aires). This is a research project aimed at the right of children to be heard and to participate in family legal processes. It seeks to achieve this through a dialogue with children aged 16-18. The project will explore how children perceive their experience with the justice system; how children perceive their participation in the legal process in view of evolving autonomy; and, finally, how children understand and construct the concept of access to justice. Different methods will be used to implement the research, namely: participatory research that asks children to create something that reflects their experience with the family justice system (e.g., a TikTok, YouTube video, or a song), and by asking children to participate in the performance of a play.
The Jury was very positive about the active involvement of children in the project, but also about the strong children’s rights perspective throughout the project as a whole. The Jury thought the project to be well structured and feasible with a view to be carried out according to the timeline provided. A grant of € 4.000,- has been awarded for this project.
- Title: CIRCLEcity: Children’s Investigation of Resilient Circular Lifestyle and Environments in the City, submitted by Dr Özlemnur Ataol (Maastricht University) and Roger Thomassen (Center for Nature and Environmental Education Maastricht).
This project entails a collaborative action research with children (aged 11-12 years) living in Maastricht. It aims to investigate the perceptions children have of sustainable / unsustainable consumption behaviour and their approach to utilising circularity in their activities targeting their unsustainable consumption behaviour. The ultimate goal is to both change children’s attitude and behaviour towards sustainable development in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and to promote and empower children to become active and responsible urban citizens. The method that will be used is interactive workshops with children aimed at three purposes: exchanging ideas on views among children about pluriform societies; discussing ideas that exist among children about sustainable / unsustainable consumption behaviour; and making plans about community action involving children, parents and schools.
The Jury appreciated the link in the project between children’s rights, sustainable development and the day-to-day behaviour of children with a view to transforming these concepts to the local level by involving children actively through community action to be developed in workshops. The Jury was of the view that this project is embedded well in the growing (academic) literature on the subject. The Jury decided to grant € 2.600,- to this project.
- Title: Promoting children’s voices in Australian family law decision-making: co-designing a participation toolkit with children as experts by experience, submitted by Peggy Ter Vrugt (Maastricht University) and Dr Georgina Dimopoulos (Southern Cross University, Australia). The research project aims to improve children’s experiences of participation in Australian family law decision-making by co-designing a children’s participation toolkit and to contribute to the growing body of evidence about the value of respecting children’s rights and giving them the opportunity to participate in decision-making about (family) matters that affect them. Focus group discussions with children will be held to collect the ideas and experiences of children about family law matters that they have been involved in. On the basis of this data, a ‘children’s participation toolkit’ will be developed and tested.
The Jury is positive about the organisation and goals of the project, which seem to be feasible in light of the methodology that will be used. There is a strong component of children’s participation in the project, in particular because children are seen as experts by experience. In addition, the project has an interesting perspective on how participation rights of children can be researched and strengthened. It can also provide practical suggestions for legislative ideas on matters of participation of children. The Jury decided to grant € 4.750,- to this project.
- Title: Parliament of Earthquake Children in Adiyaman, Turkey, submitted by Selman Aksünger (Maastricht University), in collaboration with YECED (Children of the Earth Association, Turkey). The goal of this education project is to determine the needs and identify the rights of vulnerable children impacted by the earthquake that occurred in Turkey in February 2023 and to design a strategy aimed at protecting their rights. This will be done through teaching children about their rights in an interactive way. The idea of the project is to teach about children’s rights by actively involving children in workshops and a simulated session of a children’s parliament where they can express their voices, concerns and needs. The target group are vulnerable children who were affected by the earthquake and are living in tent camps in the Adiyaman region. The project will be carried out in collaboration with YECED, a local partner that has experience with working with children.
The Jury very much appreciated the goal of this education project, namely giving a voice to children as victims of natural disasters. These voices often remain unheard or go unnoticed. The Jury is sympathetic towards this goal. In addition, this project is practical and result oriented by interactively involving children and listening to their needs, while at the same translating these into children’s rights and ways to protect and promote these under difficult physical circumstances on the ground. A grant of €2.500,- will be given to this project.
Second Call in 2023
A second round for applications for funding will take place later this year. The deadline is 15 October 2023. In particular, students from Maastricht University are encouraged to prepare and submit an application. They may consult Dr Marieke Hopman of the Children’s Rights Research Fund for advice (email:
