Within the framework of the First International Forum for the Developing Countries Think Tanks, the United Nations Children’s Fund in Egypt (UNICEF) is organizing an international conference on “Child Poverty and Disparities: Public Policies for Social Justice”. The conference serves as a platform for innovative thinking on social policy and child rights that will bring together academics, policy makers, practitioners as well as university students to exchange experiences and discuss proposals for inclusive and child-sensitive public social and economic policies that aim to reduce child poverty and are based on scientific evidence.

Background
Many countries have been unable to set an economic agenda that eliminates poverty at the rate foreseen by the MDGs and which is required to achieve the rights of the child. In addition, inequalities have persisted or even increased. Moreover, even though children often constitute around 40% of the total population, their rights and special needs are often placed below other priorities, leading to lost opportunities in terms of both human and economic development.

Call for Papers
The conference organizers welcome proposals for presentations from academics, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners. University students and recent graduates are particularly encouraged to respond to the call for papers. The presentations at the conference can be any of the following formats:
1) Individual paper presentations of applied research or documented experiences;
2) Poster presentations on research findings or successful experiences; and
3) Post-graduate feedback sessions on ongoing research projects.

Papers and presentations submitted should focus either on Egypt specifically or should discuss relevant applied research and experiences reporting on policy proposals that could possibly be transposed to the Egyptian context. They should 1) have a solid methodological approach, be it quantitative or qualitative; 2) have a strong evidence base and 3) discuss implications for inclusive public policies that advance children’s rights and reduce their vulnerability to the multidimensional notion of poverty. Selected papers, presentations and research projects will address at least one of the following themes:

1) Policy implications of child poverty from a child rights perspective with a focus on:

a) education deprivation and/or
b) health deprivation and/or
c) nutrition deprivation and/or
d) deprivation of social protection and/or
e) deprivation of social support systems for children at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation

2) Child and adolescent participation in research and development to achieve child rights

Language
Presentations of selected papers, research projects as well as poster presentations at the conference can be either in English or Arabic. However, proposals (abstracts) and final papers must be submitted in English.

Financial assistance
Small grants covering accommodation can be provided to scholars and students from developing countries that will present their papers or projects. Please specify in the Proposal Submission Form.

Calendar of events

• 31 October, 2008 – Deadline for proposal submission
• 30 November, 2008 – Selection of papers, poster presentations and research projects
• 15 December, 2008 – Deadline for final paper, poster and research project submissions
• Mid-January, 2009 – Conference

Contact
Dennis Arends, Chief, Social Policy, Monitoring and Evaluation, UNICEF Egypt, darends@unicef.org

Click below to download:

1. A detailed Call for Papers
2. Proposal submission form