Events
Symposium Caring for LGBTQIA+ Youth: Developing Inclusive and Affirmative Care
Project Audre commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child with a symposium about LGBTQIA+ youth in care. The symposium will gather care experienced young people, students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers to discuss the experiences and needs of LGBTQIA+ youth with the child protection system. The team will present the main findings of Audre project, and provide insight on how to create safe and supportive environments in which LGBTQIA+ youth can feel loved and valued.
When: 20th of November from 13:00 to 17:00
Where: Lutkenieuwstraat 5, 9712 AW Groningen (Zaal de Weverij)
Entrance: Free. Limited seats. Register by sending an email to m.bhageloe-blaauw@rug.nl
For whom: Students from Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, Social Work, Psychology and Sociology, researchers, practitioners working in youth care and educational settings, care experienced young people. Language: English and Dutch (support will be provided to follow the presentations in both languages)
PROGRAMME
12:30 – 13:00 Registration
13:00 – 13:05 Opening remarks by Gary Mallon, Hunter College at the City University of New York
13:05 – 13.20 Lecture by Margrite Kalverboer, Children Ombudsperson of the Netherlands
13:20 – 13:45 Your Silence Will Not Protect You: Lessons Learned from LGBTQIA Advocacy. Gary Mallon
13:45 – 13:55 Audre project, a journey together. Mijntje ten Brummelaar & Mónica López López, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen
13:55 – 14:00 LGBTQIA youth in care. Strong and resilient. Kevin van Mierlo
14:00 – 14:15 LGBTQIA youth in care. From tolerance to affirmative practice. Charly Jazbor & Samar Orwa
14:15 – 14:20 LGBTQIA youth in care. Breaking isolation: social support and community. Bjorn Ridderbos
14:20 – 14:35 LGBTQIA youth in care. Q&A with participant
14:35 – 15:00 Coffee break
15:00 – 15:20 Mini-workshop on inclusive language. Emi Howard, Translation and Correction Service at the University of Groningen
15:20 – 15:35 Perspectives of professionals and implications for practice. Rodrigo González Álvarez, PhD candidate at the University of Groningen
15:35 – 16:20 Roundtable with professionals from the practice field. Leo Vincent (Cornerstones), Manuel Pinto (Asterisk)
16:20 – 17:00 Interactive session: Lessons learned and next steps
Background
In 1954, the United Nations set the 20th of November as the Universal Children’s Day with the aim of promoting children’s rights and welfare. On this same date, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). The CRC requires governments to realize every child’s rights to adequate living conditions, health and education, as well as their rights to family life, to be protected from violence, to have their views heard, and not to be discriminated against.
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex Asexual (LGBTQIA) youth in the child protection and welfare system may experience several disadvantages during their childhood. For them, stressors (e.g., discrimination, stigma, lack of tailored services) may add up to the experiences of being placed in out-of-home care. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to create a stimulating, non-discriminatory context, where there is room for the safe expression of young persons´ sexual orientation and gender identity while in out-of-home care.
During the past two years, the team of Audre project has been collecting information about the experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults during their time in out-of-home care; as well as the perceptions of carers (e.g., group care workers and foster carers) who are responsible for their well-being. Through an innovative participatory research design, youth and young adults have been included throughout various stages of this research project. With the launching of the final research report(s), various people will take the stage to explain how to create a safe and supportive child protection context.
The project is funded by Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Seksualiteit (FWOS). The members of Audre at the University of Groningen are: Mónica López López, Mijntje ten Brummelaar, Rodrigo González Álvarez, Natalia Pierzchawka, Samar Orwa, Charly Jázbor, Bjorn Ridderbos, Kevin van Mierlo, Aniek ter Veldhuis, Elianne Zijlstra, and Hans Grietens.
Symposium ‘Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in Children and Youth’
On the 21st of November 2017, the Foster Care Research Group Groningen and Cornerstones Jeugdzorg organized a symposium about ‘Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in Children and Youth' to mark the 27th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). The symposium gathered students, researchers, practitioners and policy makers from various backgrounds to discuss the experiences and needs of LGBTQ identified (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) children and youth. During the symposium, Hanneke Felten (Movisie) and Jan Bridget (GALYIC) gave inspiring keynote lectures on minority stress, empowerment and homophobia awareness. In addition, the Audre project was launched during the event. We look back on very successful event: a great collaboration between research and practice, over 60 participants registered for the event, and over 500 people showing interest in the symposium on Facebook. The symposium was supported by Sustainable Society and organized by Mijntje ten Brummelaar, Mónica López López at our Faculty, together with Leo Vincent (Cornerstones Jeugdzorg).
| Last modified: | 08 November 2019 08.52 a.m. |