Researchers from the International Society for Child Indicators will hold a conference in Tartu

On the 27–29th of August, the International Society for Child Indicators (ISCI) will be holding their annual conference in Tartu. Head of the organizing committee Dagmar Kutsar from the University of Tartu says that what makes the conference special is the symbiosis of scientists, practitioners and policymakers who come together for one goal – to find better ways to increase child well-being.

Even though the field of research in children’s subjective well-being is relatively new, it has helped us understand the merits and drawbacks of children’s lives a lot better, says Dagmar Kutsar, researcher at the University of Tartu. “It’s really an honor to host such a conference here in Tartu. It gives our local practitioners and policymakers a one of a kind opportunity to learn from the best scientists in the field and put that knowledge into practice,” she says.

The conference warmly welcomes some of the greatest minds in the field of children’s well-being. For example, Elizabeth Fernandez from Australia will be joining us. She has studied so-called “Stolen childhoods” of Australia. In 1930–1989 many children from native Australians were taken from their homes and put into children’s homes to grow them into true Europeans. However, the conditions there often didn’t meet proper standards – children’s rights and human rights were not ensured and many of them were mistreated. That resulted in childhood trauma still affecting the people today. Fernandez has studied the childhood memories of those taken from their families and will join the conference to discuss her findings.

Many of the talks and discussions will concentrate on the well-being of children today in different areas of the world. For example, scientists Nicole Bromfield and Hasan Rexa Nende from the USA will present their research on the street children of Bangladesh – children who make their own living and are often victims of child trafficking. “We will discuss well-being of children in different districts, how different social systems are being organized and how are children doing in the legal spheres,” says Kutsar.

There will also be a discussion about Estonian children and their well-being. Statistics Estonia will present their new book “Children’s Subjective Well-Being in Local and International Perspective”. Both ISCI top scientists and Estonian researchers and analysts wrote the book. The book will later be available both online and on paper.

Futher information: Dagmar Kutsar, UT Associate Professor in Social Policy, 737 5951, dagmar.kutsar@ut.ee