The Landon Pearson Resource Centre

“Canada has long promoted both the language of children’s rights and the practice of child protection internationally. We should match this with our actions at home.”

In A Canada Fit for Children 2015: Identity, Rights and Belonging, the Hon. Landon Pearson, O.C. reminds us that real progress begins with accountability, not just globally, but within our own systems.

Read the full piece here:https://ihraamorg.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/a_canada_fit_for_children_2015-landon-pearson.pdf

📣 Call for Poster Presentations | Child Rights Academic Network (CRAN)

Are you working on research or projects connected to children’s rights or young people’s lives?

The Landon Pearson Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights invites students, early career researchers, young people, and community contributors to share their work at the CRAN meeting on April 24, 2026 at Carleton University in Ottawa.

This year’s theme, Children’s Right to Freedom of Expression and Identity, encourages reflection on how children and youth experience their rights across areas like mental health, education, inclusion, digital spaces, and climate change.

Whether you are new to children’s rights, working in community, or bringing a rights based perspective, this is your space to share, connect, and contribute.
Funding is available to support travel for selected presenters

🗓 Submit a 150 word abstract by April 10, 2026
📧 [email protected]

Let’s create a space to exchange ideas, elevate youth voices, and build meaningful connections across research, policy, and practice.

In 1997, the Hon. Landon Pearson, O.C delivered the O.D. Skelton Memorial Lecture on foreign policy, reminding us that children’s rights are not separate from global security; they are central to it.

“There is one thing this century has taught us for sure; there can be no global security without human security; no human security without respect for human rights; no respect for human rights without respect for children; no respect for children without listening to and hearing what they have to say.”

Nearly three decades later, these words remain just as relevant.

Honouring Landon Pearson’s legacy means continuing to centre children’s voices in the conversations that matter most. As global challenges increasingly shape children’s lives, their perspectives must shape the solutions. Listening to children is not simply an act of compassion; it is essential to building a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world.

📖 From Seen and Heard: Children’s Rights as a Foreign Policy Concern, Senator Landon Pearson’s 1997 O.D. Skelton Memorial Lecture, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (now Global Affairs Canada), Ottawa.

✨ 2025 Year in Review ✨
A year of advancing children’s rights by amplifying youth voices, shaping policy, and building community.
Thank you to everyone who made this work possible. 💛

📚Now Available: Special Issue on Children’s Rights & Decolonial Perspectives (2025)
This special edition brings together global voices and innovative, participatory research methods to challenge dominant knowledge systems in childhood studies. Developed with the International and Canadian Child Rights Partnership, it offers new insights into decolonial, intergenerational approaches to children’s rights.

Giving Tuesday is happening tomorrow!❤️

Support the Landon Pearson Centre’s children’s rights advocacy by donating to our Carleton Future Funder campaign. Thank you for helping us amplify our work and create meaningful change for young people.

Want your impact to go even further? Swipe to discover this year’s Giving Tuesday Challenges!

On November 25, 2025, the Landon Pearson Centre celebrated National Child Day, a day that recognizes children as active participants in their own lives, communities, and in decisions that affect them. National Child Day marks Canada’s commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted on November 20, 1989 and ratified by Canada in 1991, which affirms that every child deserves dignity, respect, protection from harm, the fulfillment of basic needs, and meaningful opportunities to be heard.

This year’s celebration focused on children’s participation in sports and its connection to children’s rights. The evening featured inspiring speeches, a youth-centered discussion panel with young athletes and Sheldon Kennedy, and the presentation of the Cherry Kingsley Commemorative Award by Cheryl Perera to Sheldon Kennedy. The event also included the announcement of the 2025 Issue of the Canadian Journal of Children’s Rights titled Children’s Rights and Decolonial Perspectives.

Next week, we are proud to host our National Child Day 2025 event. As part of the celebration, we will feature a panel discussion with former NHL player and children’s rights advocate Sheldon Kennedy, joined by young athletes from the Carleton community. We invite you to join us for an engaging and insightful conversation on children’s rights.

Event Details
📅 November 20, 2025
⏰ 4:00–5:00 PM EST
📍 Richcraft Hall Atrium, Carleton University OR Online (Zoom)

Registration
This event is FREE and open to all. Join in person or virtually.
Scan the QR code or click the link in our bio to register via Eventbrite.

Your donation doesn’t just fund art, it fuels youth voice, participation, and children’s rights in action. 🎨🗣️
Support the LPC Youth Arts Contest and help ensure young people shape the policies that impact their lives. https://futurefunder.carleton.ca/campaigns/youth-arts-contest/

Join the Landon Pearson Centre as we honour National Child Day 2025!

This year’s event will feature guest speakers, the launch of the newest issue of the Canadian Journal of Children’s Rights, and the presentation of the Cherry Kingsley Memorial Award to Sheldon Kennedy — recognizing his leadership in child protection, ending child sexual exploitation, and advancing children’s rights in Canada.

The evening will conclude with a discussion panel featuring Sheldon Kennedy and young athletes.

Event Details
📅 November 20, 2025
⏰ 4:00–5:00 PM EST
📍 Richcraft Hall Atrium, Carleton University OR Online (Zoom)

Registration
This event is FREE and open to all. Join in person or virtually.
Scan the QR code or click the link in our bio to register via Eventbrite.