Leading Minds Conference 2022

PARTICIPATION IN THE EVENT IS BY INVITATION ONLY.

The 2022 edition of the Leading Minds for Children and Young People conference “On the Vital Importance of Child Identity”, will be held on 2-4 November in the Salone Brunelleschi of the Istituto degli Innocenti, in Florence, Italy. The Conference is co-hosted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UNICEF Innocenti — Global Office of Research and Foresight. 

The conference will bring together some of the world’s leading thinkers — scholars, scientists, innovators, influencers, philanthropists, governments and of course young people — to understand the identity challenges that children and young people face. These range from the most traditional forms of identity — such as age, name, nationality, and family relations specified in the opening articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child — to 21st century challenges related to mass migration, cyber identity, activist status, and transnationalism, among many other topics. 

At Leading Minds 2022, we will together examine two priority areas on child identity: eliminating discrimination, exclusion and violence against children based on identity; and supporting and fostering positive child and youth identities. 

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES 

• Provide a comprehensive review of the conference theme through a Conference Paper on the key issues that will be explored at the conference and the primary pathways to change. 
• Convene partners and catalyse actions to promote greater acceptance and tolerance of childhood identities and protect children from violence, abuse, exploitation, neglect, discrimination, and exclusion based on identity. 
• Agree on strategic pathways to change based on sound research and evidence and experience. 
• Identify key issues to inform global policy and strategic advocacy positions and programmes.
• Elevate child identity within the international forum as a key priority area for 21st century making a clear connection with the realization of ‘Our Common Agenda’, the Summit of the Future and the World Social Summit. 
• Strengthen existing or leverage partnerships and alliances on diverse aspects of child identity including disability, gender, ethnicity, legal identity, etc. Youth leaders taking the leading role in LMC 2022, co-curating from inception to completion, and co- moderating sessions, outcomes, and actions with other Leading Minds stakeholders. 

EXPECTED RESULTS 

The aim of the Leading Minds Conference is to end with a bold but achievable global ambition for children, with an associated action agenda and a set of partners committed to taking it forward. For the Leading Minds Conference 2022, a draft array of concrete results might be as follows: 

• Clarion Call on the Elimination of Violence, Discrimination and Exclusion in Childhood based on Identity. The aim is foster support among a broad swathe of stakeholders for this declaration…with the aim of it becoming a driving force towards ‘Our Common Agenda’ and in the run up to the Summit of the Future and the World Social Summit.
• Leading Minds Research Youth Fellowships on Child Identity. A research programme that will delve more deeply into the evidence on child identity and track proven and promising solutions. Conference Report summarising the conference outcomes and agenda. 
• Follow Up Moderated Discussions among internal and external stakeholders on taking the conference outcomes and agenda forward. 

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