TCD Academic Elected as President of the International Child Research Organisation Childwatch

May 24, 2010

Professor Robbie Gilligan, Head of the School of Social Work and Social Policy, at Trinity College Dublin has been elected President of Childwatch International Research Network. Childwatch International is a global, non-profit, nongovernmental network of 45 university level research institutions across six continents. It  promotes  child research for the purpose of advancing child rights and improving children’s well-being around the world. Professor Gilligan is Associate Director of the Children’s Research Centre at Trinity College which is one of the member institutions of Childwatch International.

“I am greatly honoured to serve as President of Childwatch, and to represent Ireland and Trinity College Dublin in this capacity”,  Professor Robbie Gilligan said following his recent election at a meeting in New York.  “It  is vital to have well informed policy for children globally, especially when there are so many competing demands on national and international budgets. Good quality research is a key ingredient in the development of national and international child policy. Childwatch has an important role in helping to build research capacity in relation to children’s issues and interests, especially in developing countries. The Childwatch Network is a wonderful mechanism through  which to share evidence and expertise globally.  I look forward to working with my colleagues in Childwatch and our partners on the challenge of bringing more resources to building research effort and capacity in developing countries.”

Childwatch was founded in 1993 as a response from the research community to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention is the basis for the Network’s common agenda. Childwatch and its member institutions  work closely with UN agencies, international and national non-governmental organisations and public bodies. It seeks to harness the collective capacity of international child researchers to identify and investigate major questions of global significance in the lives of children.