Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children's Rights
In an era marked by global challenges including conflict and war, climate crises, poverty, food insecurity, rising mental health issues and anxieties, child sexual exploitation and trafficking, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and disruptive technologies, access to quality education, and gender-based violence and discrimination, the work we do at the Landon Pearson Centre has never been more crucial.
Our passion and commitment to enabling and supporting efforts to realize children’s and young people’s human rights, and promoting understanding and education of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, combined with our expertise and pioneering efforts in participation and engagement, are timely and unique
At the Landon Pearson Centre, we have a team of experts working across sectors, and inter-generationally, to understand and realize these rights, creating and enabling opportunities by leveraging research expertise to drive change.
We play a crucial role in ensuring that the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Canada in 1991, are understood, implemented, and upheld in practical, real-life contexts.
In addition to providing a networking space, we offer our children’s rights expertise and resources to organizations – government, private sector, civil society – as well as to individuals who work with, for, and on behalf of children and young people.
The Landon Pearson Centre’s Shaking the Movers Model TM and Workshop Series provide a unique platform to skillfully amplify young voices, to engage young people and adult decision-makers to work synergistically, and to activate children’s participation in a meaningful way for transforming ideas into impactful actions.
As Canada’s most long-standing children’s rights Centre, the Landon Pearson Centre’s enduring presence since 2006 makes it a significant force for creating positive change that matters in children’s and young people’s lives.
OUR MISSION: The Landon Pearson Centre is committed to enhancing and improving the lives of children and young people, and promoting awareness and understanding of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, through our unwavering dedication and expertise in human rights and our pioneering work in children’s and young people’s participation.
OUR VISION: To build a society where every young person flourishes, where their human rights are respected and upheld, where their voices and perspectives are heard, and their insights inform and shape the decisions and actions of adults in creating sustainable and meaningful change.
WHAT WE DO: We are a dedicated team of professionals with interdisciplinary expertise in children’s lives and human rights guiding our work with, for, and on behalf of children and young people. Our team includes representatives from academia, government and non-governmental organizations, law, medicine, policy, practice, advocacy, and more. The Landon Pearson Centre works to address pressing issues and concerns using our signature rights-respecting approach developed by our founder, the Hon. Landon Pearson.
Our collaborations with children’s rights experts and child-serving organizations, both large and small, tackle critical challenges facing children and young people as well as organizations and individuals who work with, for or on their behalf. We leverage our research and applied expertise in impactful ways. Using the Shaking the Movers model and approach, we actively involve young people in meaningful ways to create sustainable approaches to interventions and solutions.
We mentor undergraduate and graduate students, fostering their interest and expertise in children’s and young people’s human rights. Our resource collection contains over 14,000 documents, the largest collection of children’s rights materials in one place in Canada. This collection offers students an opportunity to work with resources that include primary source documents from Landon Pearson’s career while in the Senate of Canada. These original materials provide unique information about events and people regarding the development of children’s rights in Canada and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
WHAT MAKES THE LANDON PEARSON CENTRE UNIQUE: We are distinguished by our collaborative and dedicated approach, backed by an extensive expert network of children’s rights professionals. Young people’s participation is at the heart of our work including children as young as three years of age. The Centre works to ensure their voices are heard and respected. We employ a strengths-based approach that leverages a substantial research base to inform advocacy and action, allowing us to tackle real-world issues effectively. By integrating research, policy, advocacy, and action, we address pressing challenges and drive meaningful change. In addition to these activities, our commitment extends to mentoring the next generation of leaders in children’s and young people’s human rights.
WHAT WE OFFER: The Landon Pearson Centre provides a unique blend of collaboration, expertise, and innovation to organizations, individuals, and students. We offer:
- Organizations: Tailored partnerships to address real-world issues using a strengths-based approach, leveraging our substantial research base. We collaborate with you to drive meaningful change.
- Individuals: We provide expert guidance and support to those who wish to tackle pressing challenges faced by children and young people using innovative strategies.
- Students: We offer mentorship and experiential opportunities to students to engage in cutting-edge research, advocacy, and action. We foster the development of future leaders in children’s and young people’s human rights, offering hands-on experience and professional growth.
ABOUT LANDON PEARSON
The Hon. Landon Pearson maintained an active presence in the Centre and served as the Centre’s Chair until her passing in January 2023. She ensured that the Centre would continue contributing to a broader effort to transform societal understanding that children’s rights matter. This idea continues to be the heart of the Centre’s long-term vision and it informs our collaborations, dialogues, initiatives, and projects dedicated to the advancement and betterment of the lives of children and young people.
As we gather in the Landon Pearson Centre to work with and on behalf of children and young people, we wish to gratefully acknowledge that the land on which we gather at Carleton is the unceded and unsurrendered territories of the Algonquin-Anishnaabe peoples. As settlers on this land, we wish to convey our respect and gratitude to the Algonquin peoples and other Indigenous, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples on Turtle Island who have taken care of the land over generations.
