News & Commentary

(8 January 2020) A World Bank blog has included eight papers by UNICEF’s Office of Research—Innocenti and the cash transfer research collaborative, the Transfer Project, among its top social protection papers of 2019. The papers cover a wide range of topics, highlighting the variety of research being undertaken in this increasingly important area.

(31 December 2019) Over the last few years a huge amount of effort has gone into publication of web articles on the latest research, evidence and thought leadership news at UNICEF Innocenti. 2019 was an important year for our research, with findings on migration, sport for development, family friendly workplace policies and child internet use contributing to new ways of understanding critical issues for child and family related policy makers. It was also a banner year for the renewal of Innocenti as a global centre of thought leadership on child rights. We hope you enjoy this rewind through our web news coverage of 2019!

(23 December 2019) The seventh edition of UNICEF Innocenti’s Best of UNICEF Research (BOUR) publication has been released. The publication features ten research papers selected through competitive review, representing the most innovative and rigorous research produced across the global UNICEF organization in 2019. BOUR, which reviews submissions of research from UNICEF offices and national committees around the world, continues to be an important compendium of inspiring, rigorous and potentially influential research efforts for children.

(6 December 2019) As conflict-related crises and the movement of people across the globe continue, there is a growing need to support vulnerable populations who have been uprooted or are on the move. Social protection can help to address this need, through supporting basic needs, addressing poverty, and providing opportunities to improve health and education of children. A newly published special issue of the Journal of Development Studies aims to inform and support the design of social protection programmes in these humanitarian contexts.

(2 December 2019) Each year, UNICEF and its partners in Africa generate a wealth of evidence about the situation of children. The 2019 edition of the Knowledge for Children in Africa Publications Catalogue features 107 reports and studies on the situation of children, young people and women in Africa. These publications represent the collective knowledge produced by UNICEF Country and Regional Offices across Africa and highlight the evidence essential to informing the development, monitoring and implementation of policies and programmes for the realization of children’s rights across the continent.

(28 November 2019) – Blanket restrictions on children’s internet use prevent them from taking advantage of critical learning and skills development opportunities, according to a new UNICEF report, launched today at the Internet Governance Forum in Berlin. Produced by the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and based on research by Global Kids Online,

(20 November 2019) The City of Florence today joined UNICEF Innocenti and the Istituto degli Innocenti in '#GoBlue,' an initiative launched by UNICEF around the world to celebrate World Children’s Day Iconic Florentine monuments were illuminated in blue: the six ancient gates of the city; the Basilica of S. Miniato; and the facade of the Istituto degli Innocenti. The ‘blue landmarks’ event commemorates the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 600th anniversary of the founding of the Istituto degli Innocenti and the 30th year since establishment of the UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti here in Florence, housed in the same complex as the Istituto.

(14 November 2019) The lights have dimmed on the inaugural Leading Minds gathering – UNICEF’s new global conference series to highlight burning issues affecting children and young people in the 21st century – but the notes of Vivaldi and Mozart played by students of the Music Academy of Fiesole at the opening ceremony continue to linger in the air, playing counterpoint to the voices and energy of the many young participants who attended, and who, for three days, shared the reins of an unusual high-level expert conference, helping to change it into an authentic forum for human dialogue, experience exchange, and commitment for action.

(13 November 2019) In commemoration of three significant anniversaries for children in 2019 - the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the 30th year since UNICEF's Office of Research was founded at Innocenti, and the 600th anniversary of the founding of the Ospedale Degli Innocenti, UNICEF's host institution in Florence - UNICEF Innocenti has produced a new publication: For every child, Answers: 30 Years of Research for Children at UNICEF Innocenti. The publication takes a "30 at 30" approach, providing short, easy-to-read articles covering the 30 most significant areas of UNICEF Innocenti's impact for children over the course of its thirty year history. The thirty articles are grouped according to: Rights of the Child, Education, Adolescence, Gender and Parenting, Child Health and Nutrition, Child Protection and Care, Multidimensional Child Poverty and Well-being, and Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing.Smiling child in the first pre-school in Côte d'Ivoire to be constructed with building materials made from recycled plastic. "We are immensely grateful to the Istituto Degli Innocent, and equally so to the Municipality of Florence, the Regional Administration of Tuscany and the Government of Italy, for their unstinting support over the years," said Dr. Priscilla Idele, Director a.i. at UNICEF Innocenti, in the publication's foreword. "As our work evolves over the next 30 years, emerging issues such as climate change, displacement, urbanization, mental health, and technology, are assuming increasing importance to children, presenting risks and offering opportunities to realize their rights." Each article is organized around the questions: Why does it matter? What have we done? and What is the impact? And each article is supported by an authorotative bibliography with key links to source documents in the UNICEF Innocenti catalogue, making the publication an excellent tool for research and study.According to Patrizia Faustini, who developed the concept and led research for the publication: "This publication will demonstrate the value and significance of the work that has been developed over the last 30 years at UNICEF’s Office of Research. We pioneered global efforts to gain better understanding of the practical implications of the Convention on the Rights of the Child from the time when it was an absolutely new and very few people understood much about how to implement the articles of the Convention, and put them into action. The publication also points to how the same innovative spirit in forging into new territories is the nature of all our research work."List of Thirty Article Titleschild rightsChild RightsBirth RegistrationChildren's ParticipationIndigenous and Minority ChildrenOmbuds for Children's RightsChild Rights in a Digital WorldeducationEarly Childhood Education and CareEducation for AllSport for Developmentchild health and nutritionBreastfeedingChildren and HIVClimate Change and Childrenchild protection and careIntercountry AdoptionChildren and JusticeChild-Freindly CitiesChild LabourChildren and Armed ConflictChildren on the MoveViolence Affecting Childrenmultidimensional child poverty and well-beingTransitional Economies and ChildrenChildren in High-Income CountriesMultidimensional Child PovertyCash Transfers for Child Well-beingcapacity building, evidence synthesis and knowledge sharingResearch Tools and MethodsEthical Research Involving ChildrenShowcasing UNICEF's Best ResearchConvening and Thought Leadership  

(7 November 2019) On the eve of the first ever UNICEF and WHO joint consultation of young people's mental health - at Leading Minds 2019 in Florence, Italy - invited 'young leaders' gathered to record a podcast documenting their views and requests on urgent actions needed to address a rising mental health crisis for global experts and decision makers leaders. The podcast provides a platform for them to go into much greater detail on the key issues they are facing and the courses of action they feel are most needed.

PRESS RELEASE (New York/ Geneva/Florence, 5 November 2019) With the alarmingly high rates of self-harm, suicide and anxiety among children and young people around the world, UNICEF and the World Health Organization are teaming up with some of the world’s leading minds to tackle this growing threat. “Too many children and young people, rich and poor alike, in all four corners of the world, are experiencing mental health conditions,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “This looming crisis has no borders or boundaries. With half of mental disorders starting before age 14, we need urgent and innovative strategies to prevent, detect and, if needed, treat them at an early age.”

(4 November 2019) The inaugural UNICEF Innocenti Film festival concluded on a positive note on 27 October at Cinema La Compagnia in Florence. Thirty two films from 28 countries were screened over three days, receiving enthusiastic reception from audiences. Apart from the diversity and quality of the film programme, a highlight of the festival was the panel discussions which featured dialogue between film directors and UNICEF child rights research experts.