CREAN Bi-annual Conference 2026

Knowledge Circulation in Children’s Rights Studies:
Production, Impact and Reintegration of Knowledge across Academia, Policy, Practice and Children’s Lives

The Children’s Rights European Academic Network (CREAN) is pleased to announce its 2026 Bi-annual Conference dedicated to exploring the circulation of knowledge across academia, policy, practice, and children’s lived realities.

Over the past decade, CREAN conferences have contributed to strengthening Children’s Rights and Childhood Studies as interdisciplinary academic fields while fostering dialogue between academia, policy-makers, practitioners, civil society actors, and international organisations. Building on previous discussions concerning education, societal impact, and collaborative research, the 2026 Conference will critically examine how knowledge is circulated and reintegrated in the lived realities of children.

As Children’s Rights and Childhood Studies continue to consolidate academically, important questions emerge regarding the relationship between research and society:

How does knowledge circulate between academia, policy, practice, and children’s lived realities?
Who defines what counts as valid knowledge in children’s rights?
How can research findings move beyond academic spaces and meaningfully return to children and communities?
How can more democratic, pluralistic, and inclusive forms of knowledge circulation be developed?

Conference Objectives

The 2026 CREAN Conference aims to:

Advance theoretical and empirical understanding of knowledge circulation reintegrationin Children’s Rights and Childhood Studies;
Provide a platform for dialogue between academics, policy-makers, practitioners and civil society actors on how knowledge is produced, translated and circulated;
Critically reflect on the power dynamics and ethical dimensions of knowledge circulation as an integrated process of production, impact and reintegration;
Identify innovative practices and methodologies that enhance the reach, relevance and inclusiveness of children’s rights knowledge;
Strengthen CREAN’s role as a space for exchange, reflection and collaboration across disciplines and sectors.

Audience

This conference, which is part of the activities developed by the CREAN, is open for CREAN members as well as well as for other interested participants. We particularly invite policy-makers, staff members of civil society organisations, international organisations and researchers who work on themes related to childhood, children’s rights, human rights studies and cognate academic fields.

Call for posters and papers

You may submit proposals for participation in one or both of the following formats:

Posters: Knowledge Circulation in Policy and Practice

The poster session is dedicated mainly to non-academic organisations and practitioners working in the field of children’s rights, including NGOs, international and regional organisations, public authorities, and civil society actors. The session aims to showcase how academic knowledge on children’s rights is used, translated, adapted, or circulated in policy and in practice, as well as how the knowledge produced in policy and practice contributes to broader knowledge ecosystems. We welcome contributions that reflect on how organisations engage with research, integrate academic findings into their work, or generate and share knowledge from policy and practice.

Posters may present, for example:

knowledge produced in policy and practice;
grass-root initiatives informed by academic research;
tools, guidelines, or educational programmes developed through research-practice interaction;
experiences of knowledge translation between research and field contexts;
reflections on barriers and enablers to knowledge circulation and use.

Participants are invited to present their work through posters and supporting materials displayed in a dedicated space.

Papers: Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Research in Children’s Rights and Childhood Studies

We welcome paper submissions for parallel sessions dedicated to academic research in Children’s Rights and Childhood Studies, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. This track invites contributions that reflect on how knowledge is produced, circulated, translated, and potentially reintegrated into children’s lived realities, with particular attention to transdisciplinary approaches that bridge academia, policy, and practice-based knowledge. We particularly encourage submissions of both individual and group abstracts also related to PhD research, small-scale and large projects, that critically engage with the relationship between research, policy, and practice, and that consider the societal impact of scientific knowledge.

We welcome papers related to:

- Ongoing, completed, or planned research projects engaging with how knowledge in Children’s Rights and Childhood Studies is produced and used;
- Collaborative, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary research initiatives exploring processes of knowledge circulation across different contexts;
- Methodological, theoretical, or empirical reflections on how knowledge hierarchies are formed and how more inclusive and pluralistic approaches can be developed;
- Research on the societal impact of children’s rights knowledge, including its circulation, appropriation, and return to practice and lived realities.

Submission guidelines and timing

All summaries must be submitted before 20 July 2026. Applicants will be notified of the decision by the organising Committee by 10 September 2026.

Posters: Please submit a 200-word summary of the poster you wish to present, along with the preferred format of your presentation (poster format, flyers, etc.).
Papers: Please submit a 300-word abstract, along with three to five keywords.

Please submit your application via submission form: CREAN Conference 2026 - Call for posters and papers – Remplir le formulaire.

Participation fee

150 CHF for participants from non-member institutions, 50 CHF for students. This amount will be requested only after announcement of acceptance.