A Global Research Agenda for Children's Rights in the Digital Age

Abstract

Taking the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as a starting point for evidence-based policy regarding children’s rights in the digital age, we offer a global research agenda designed to produce evidence of value for policy makers working to promote children’s rights. Informed by research reviews and interviews with international stakeholders, four priorities for theory and evidence are identified: (i) the provision of opportunities that confer benefit, recognising that this may be defined diversely according to the cultural context, (ii) the protection of children from risk of harm, including understanding the relation between vulnerability and resilience, (iii) the balance between risk and opportunities, especially to allow for children’s participation even in risky opportunities, (iv) the framing of the research agenda (in terms of concepts, design, measures, and priorities) and the evaluation of policies and initiatives in collaboration with researchers and practitioners from the global South