About Us
This is a pilot initiative led by the Child Law Department at Leiden Law School in collaboration with LUDev, a student-led team of software developers from the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science. Together, we are building an innovative, student-centered digital space designed to strengthen children's rights literacy and support youth activism.
The picture on the right illustrates the team from LUdev together with Sheila Varadan from Leiden Law School.
Our Mission
Our mission is to make children's rights accessible, understandable and actionable to youth. Our aim is to equip young people with the knowledge, tools and skills to exercise their rights, make their voices heard, and take action on the issues that matter most to them.
The names from left to right are: Ilse de Bruijn, Xiaosai Li, Joeke Meijer, Sheila Varadan, Roxana-Laura Micu, Tony Tian, Yihui Peng.What Are We Doing?
We are developing a prototype (a minimum viable product) for a Children's Rights Resource Centre that brings together a range of children's rights materials and resources into a single searchable child-friendly platform for youth to explore, learn and actively engage with their rights.
The aim is to provide youth with the following:
- Clear and accessible explanations of their rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Guided access to international children's rights institutions (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child)
- Curated resources on youth-led activism - advocacy toolkits
- A searchable database of materials from the United Nations
Why Does This Matter?
Children have a right to know, understand and exercise their rights. This pilot initiative is grounded in Articles 29(1)(b), 13 and 42 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires all countries in the world to take active steps to make children's rights widely known to children, and the adults supporting them.
Our aim is to strengthen children's understanding and engagement with their rights by:
- Empowering young people to explore and learn about their rights
- Supporting global citizenship by equipping students with the tools to engage on issues that matter most to them
- Enabling youth to lead informed, responsible and socially advocacy using advocacy toolkits and resources designed for young people