Read our latest blog from Participation, Engagement and Policy Advisor, Julia Swann, who shares her experiences from attending the Arctic Youth Research Conference in Tromsø earlier this month.
If you are familiar with Tromsø you might know it as a hot spot for catching the Northern Lights, or perhaps for its ‘midnight sun’, a period of over 70 days of continuous sunlight. This year however, it has also been selected as the European Youth Capital, and was home to the Arctic Youth Research Conference hosted by the Arctic Youth Research Centre at Universitetet i Tromsø (UiT), the Arctic University of Norway.
Tromsø is a small yet vibrant city rich with indigenous Sámi culture. Following around two centuries of forced assimilation, Sámi people across Sápmi (the indigenous Sámi region crossing Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia) fought for recognition, democratic rights, and cultural protection. In 1989 the Sámi Parliament of Norway, or Sámediggi in Northern Sámi, officially opened. This fight for democracy in the face of marginalisation was a thread running throughout the Arctic Youth Research Conference. CYCJ’s Director Professor Fiona Dyer, alongside Erin Hastings and I, joined delegates from 14 countries to share learning and insight into the democratic involvement of children and young people, often in the face of issues such as poverty, exclusion, and criminalisation.
Fiona delivered the opening keynote speech of the conference. Fiona introduced delegates to Scotland’s unique approach to children in conflict with the law, and how this has both been shaped by and shapes the participation of children and young people. Summarising Scotland’s care and justice landscape in under an hour is no mean feat, but Fiona expertly delivered a nuanced yet digestible introduction to CYCJ’s contributions to policy and practice development over the last ten years.
With support from UArctic’s north2north mobility programme, Erin and I were able to attend the conference to present our co-authored draft chapter on supporting meaningful participation for children and young people in conflict with the law. Our chapter explores the context of participation in Scotland’s care and justice systems, and the additional barriers to democratic involvement for children and young people who find themselves involved in justice processes. We were both deeply appreciative of the positive feedback we received, and the interest shown in our perspective by academics and practitioners from around the world. Following feedback, Erin and I were invited to submit a full draft for peer review. It is so encouraging to see that our international colleagues recognise the importance of practitioner insight, and the value that this can have in academic publications. Of course all of our professional learning and insight comes from the children and young people we work alongside, and we wouldn’t have any of these opportunities without their openness and determination to enact change.
Throughout the Arctic Youth Research Conference we had fascinating conversations with representatives from City of Dublin University, the Norwegian Directorate of Health, University of South-Eastern Norway, and the City of Detroit Office of Youth Affairs to name a few. Across all of these discussions was the common thread of young people claiming power in times of injustice. From the children and young people who work alongside CYCJ who face marginalisation and over-criminalisation, to indigenous Sámi youth navigating the climate crisis while preserving cultural heritage, and young African Americans in Detroit influencing public policy in the aftermath of rapid deindustrialisation, there was a beautiful sense of solidarity across diverse social, cultural, and political landscapes. What stood out across all of these contexts is that children and young people across the world are facing deeply complex and intersecting challenges in a novel global context characterised by economic inequality, sociopolitical division, and disempowerment. As adults, community-members, and practitioners, it is incumbent on us to recognise these challenges and help build systems that protect and uphold children’s and human rights, and create spaces where youth-led collective power can grow.
At CYCJ we are tackling this through embedding and supporting meaningful participation across all areas of Scotland’s justice systems, and encouraging practitioners to share and strengthen their knowledge of the challenges children and young people face today. As always, we welcome conversation around how to support children and young people to influence justice systems and processes – readers can contact our Participation Lead Orielle Taylor orielle.taylor@strath.ac.uk for further information. Or for a deep dive into Participation Practice you can read Section 4 of our annually updated Practice Guide – the 2026 edition coming very soon!
Our thanks go out to Professor Rita Sørly, Head of the Arctic Youth Research Centre, and everyone at the centre for their kindness and support. Thank you also to UArctic who supported our visit through the north2north mobility fund.
Arctic Youth | Forskningssenter for barn og unge i Arktis
UArctic – University of the Arctic
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