1. Shaking the Movers Workshop Series
    1. STM Workshop Series Funders:  Lawson Foundation and the Muttart Family Foundation (Early Childhood STM workshops)
    2. A Model for Collaborative Consultation with Children and Youth on Public Policy
    3. Workshop Organization
  2. Shaking the Movers Annual Reports
    1. In 2016, Shaking the Movers format transformed from one national workshop to several regionally located workshops held annually.
    2. 2016 Shaking the Movers Series: Theme — Climate Change 
    3. 2017 Shaking the Movers  Series:  Theme – Children on the Move
    4. 2018 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme – Children’s Rights and Discrimination
    5. 2018 STM Mini Series (developed by Dr. Brenda Morrison, Simon Fraser University)
    6. 2018 Shaking the Movers Disability and Children’s Rights Workshop
    7. 2019 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme – Children’s Rights in Schools
    8. 2019 Pilot:  STM Early Childhood Series
    9. 2020 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme — Children’s Civil and Political Rights  
    10. 2021 Shaking the Movers Series: Theme – Children’s Rights and the COVID-19 Pandemic  
    11. 2022-23 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme – “A World Fit For Us”
    12. 2023-24 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme- “Reconciliation and Places Where We Belong”
    13. 2024-25 Shaking the Movers SEries:  Theme – “Building Our Communities of Care.”
    14. Related Resources:

Shaking the Movers Workshop Series

“Shaking the Movers” is an annual youth-driven and youth-led workshop series held in different regions of the country in both English and French.  The workshops enable children and youth to have a safe space to consider aspects of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the context of their lived experiences.  Shaking the Movers workshops also provide children and youth with a unique opportunity to exercise their right to engage in important civil and political processes with the assurance that their voices will be listened to and heard. 

STM Workshop Series Funders:  Lawson Foundation and the Muttart Family Foundation (Early Childhood STM workshops)

The Landon Pearson Centre designed these workshops to enable children and young people to “have the floor,” to present their unique perspectives and experiences, and to provide specific recommendations and input related to a children’s rights theme. STM began with one workshop in 2007; workshops are held annually with 8-17 year old young people are held in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick with the support of the Lawson Foundation. These workshops also received partial funding support from the Public Health Agency of Canada.  

The Centre piloted three STM Early Childhood workshops for 3 to 7 year old children in Toronto, Edmonton and Pond Inlet in 2019 with the support of the Muttart Family Foundation. 

A Model for Collaborative Consultation with Children and Youth on Public Policy

The Landon Pearson Centre’s model for collaborative consultation with young people guides the Shaking the Movers workshops. Funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada supported the development of the model in 2011. The unique features of this model are vital for the elaboration of effective public policy. 

Workshop Organization

Approximately 30 children and youth between the ages of 8 and 17 attend each workshop sometimes held over two-days, one day or virtually.  Adults assist with setting up the infrastructure for the workshop; they are there to listen only, to hear the recommendations made, to be a resource, to provide support to youth participants, and to ensure that the workshop takes place in a safe and comfortable setting. The outcomes, priorities, and ideas presented by young people at the workshop are written up into summary reports by a young person. Landon Pearson had made it her priority to ensure that the reports reached the hands of the “movers” in Canada and that they responded to young people’s concerns and recommendations in the reports.  This tradition continues and all culminating reports are circulated to adult decision-makers in the CRAN network as well as in government and other organizations.  All reports and responses are public documents.

Shaking the Movers Early Childhood workshops, funded by the Muttart Family Foundation, are designed for 3 to 7-year-old children by early childhood education experts in the Child Rights Academic Network.  These workshops are another feature of what is unique about the Landon Pearson Centre:  we  consult with very young children using a tailored approach, value their lived experiences, and bring their views and perspectives to inform decision-making on their behalf.  

Shaking the Movers Annual Reports

Each Shaking the Movers workshop is organized in cooperation with a local University or Community Partner and features a theme related to an Article(s) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child or related theme. Below is a list of STM themes since its inception in 2007. Each year, at the conclusion of the Shaking the Movers workshops, young participants select the theme for the upcoming year’s series of workshops. 

An evaluative research is currently underway as part of the International and Canadian Child  Rights Partnership project (SSHRC-funded) involving 39 partners globally investigating children’s participation and intergenerational relationships.  This evaluative project focuses on the long and short term impacts from the view of children and young people as a result of their participation in a Shaking the Movers workshop.  For more information, contact Virginia Caputo:  VirginiaCaputo@cunet.carleton.ca  

  • Speaking Truth to Power: Civil and Political Rights of Children (2007) Articles 12, 19, 24, 44  (pdf report); 
  • Identity and Belonging (2008), Articles 29.1.C and 30 (pdf report); 
  • Child Rights in Education (2009), Articles 28, 29 and 42 (pdf report);
  • Children and the Media (2010), Articles 13, 16, 17, 34, 36 (pdf report;
  • Youth Justice (2011), Articles 37 and 40 (pdf report);
  • Mental Health (2012), Articles 23 and 24 (pdf report). 
  • Right to Play and Artistic Expression (2013), Article 31 (pdf report)
  • Child Exploitation (2014)L (pdf report))
  • Sexual Exploitation (2015): STM-BC  (pdf report)

In 2016, Shaking the Movers format transformed from one national workshop to several regionally located workshops held annually.

2016 Shaking the Movers Series: Theme — Climate Change 

2017 Shaking the Movers  Series:  Theme – Children on the Move

2018 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme – Children’s Rights and Discrimination

2018 STM Mini Series (developed by Dr. Brenda Morrison, Simon Fraser University)

  • Shaking the Movers Kwayhquitlum 2018: pdf report
  • Shaking the Movers Queen Mary North Vancouver 2018: pdf report
  • Shaking the Movers Queen Mary II North Vancouver 2018: pdf report
  • Shaking the Movers Tecumseh School, Vancouver 2018: pdf report

2018 Shaking the Movers Disability and Children’s Rights Workshop

(Organized by Virginia Caputo, SSHRCC funded project.  See IECSS website at toronto.ca/inclusive-early-childhood-service-system-project)

  • Shaking the Movers/IECSS 2018 Disability and Children’s Rights. pdf report.
  • STM /IECSS Disability and Children’s Rights 2018 slide presentation

2019 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme – Children’s Rights in Schools

2019 Pilot:  STM Early Childhood Series

  • Children’s Rights in Schools:  STM Early Childhood Toronto 2019 pdf report
  • Children’s Rights in Schools:  STM Early Childhood Pond Inlet 2019 pdf report
  • Children’s Rights in Schools:  STM Early Childhood Edmonton 2019 (pdf report)

2020 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme — Children’s Civil and Political Rights  

2021 Shaking the Movers Series: Theme – Children’s Rights and the COVID-19 Pandemic  

2022-23 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme – “A World Fit For Us”

  • STM Ottawa 2022-23 (Vanier Social Services Centre) pdf report
  • STM Ottawa 2022-23 (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society) pdf report
  • STM London 2022-23 (King’s College Western University)  pdf report
  • STM Toronto 2022-23 (Toronto Metropolitan University)  pdf report and Video here
  • STM East Coast 2022-23  pdf report
  • STM Early Childhood Edmonton 2022-23 (MacEwan University) pdf report

2023-24 Shaking the Movers Series:  Theme- “Reconciliation and Places Where We Belong”

  • STM 2023-24 Kitigan Zibi (First Nations Child and Family Caring Society) pdf report
  • STM 2023-24 Val d’Or (Concordia University) pdf report
  • STM 2023-24 Toronto (Toronto Metropolitan University pdf report and video
  • STM 2023-24 London (King’s College Western University) pdf report
  • STM 2023 -24 Early Childhood Edmonton (MacEwan University) pdf report

2024-25 Shaking the Movers SEries:  Theme – “Building Our Communities of Care.”

Related Resources:

STM Thematic Analysis by Undergrad Students King’s @Western, September 2021.  With thanks to King’s student Kira Prince and Prof. Daniella Bendo. Click to read King’s,Western Report

MediaSmarts:   Lesson Plan and Teaching Resource on Youth Rights and Media (2021)

​In honour of Universal Children’s Day, celebrated on November 20th, MediaSmarts has developed Shaking the Movers: Youth rights and media, a classroom resource on media and children’s rights. The teaching unit encourages students to examine how the Convention on the Rights of the Child relates to their media use. MediaSmarts partnered with the Landon Pearson Centre, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, and UNICEF to design the resource. visit the English website, which includes a lesson kit for printing in PDF format; and the French website, ​(Vous pouvez imprimer l’activité et les documents d’accompagnement réunis dans un fichier PDF)