Seen & Heard: Young People's Voices & Freedom of Expression

15/08/2026

At the premiere celebration held at school, primary students from Berlin presented the works they had created since 2024 as part of the Seen & Heard project. Among of the invited guests were school classes, teachers, parents, and arts and cultural organizations that collaborated with the school. Supported by Dr Farriba Schulz and some university students, the primary students filmed, hosted, and conducted interviews with the grown-ups that were invited to the event on the topic of children’s rights.

Watch the interview here:

Get to know our team behind the Seen and Heard project. We're a diverse group all passionate about giving youth a voice and promoting freedom of expression.

14/08/2026

At the IBBY Congress 2026 in Ottawa, research from the Seen and Heard and COREM projects was presented by Prof. Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak, highlighting the role of children's literature, education, and participatory cultural practices in supporting young people's civic agency and voice. The congress provided a valuable opportunity to connect with colleagues from around the world who share affinities with the projects' commitment to children's rights, participation, and social justice, and to engage in stimulating conversations about the role of literature and culture in supporting young people's voices and agency.

28/04/2026

On World Book Day (23 April), Amnesty International Poland held a workshop at Primary School No. 355 focused on freedom of expression and the right to protest. We used this opportunity to present the book developed within the framework of the Seen and Heard: Young People’s Voices and Freedom of Expression.

Together with the students, we explored issues that matter to them and talked about how they can use their voice – not only to share opinions, but to stand up for things they care about and create change.

Working in groups, young people reflected on real challenges they see in their school and beyond, and turned their ideas into concrete actions – from speaking up collectively to supporting one another and engaging in their communities.

At the end of the workshop, all participants received a copy of our book “Hear Our Voices” a communal poem created from the words, ideas and dreams of children from across the world.

25/04/2026

On 23 April, at Primary School no. 1 in Wrocław, we held a closing session of the project. As part of the event, the participants created zines—independent, self-published magazines traditionally made by fans of music or literature and shared within their communities. Zines are also often used as expressions of resistance and social commentary, giving voice to marginalized perspectives. The participants used this form to reflect on their experiences in the project, including their engagement with the children’s book Hear Our Voices, which explores children’s and human rights. The workshop was led by Melanie Ramdarshan Bold and Mar Sánchez Fernández, children’s literature scholars from Glasgow, Scotland.
Working together on the zines marked a meaningful conclusion to the students’ participation in the project, highlighting how they developed confidence, critical awareness, and creative ways of expressing their views on issues that matter to them.

28/03/2026

In case you were beginning to forget what it was like, here is a sweet reminder 😍 Cheers to all the powerful friendships that were born through this EU-funded project that so clearly represents the values of unity, equity, and diversity.

25/03/2026

As part of their input into the Seen and Heard project, our young humans co-created a communal poem on human rights with Sita Brahmachari and Chris Riddell. Here is a glimpse of them performing it at the Seen and Heard conference in February 🤩

17/03/2026

Changing the nature of academic conferences, one smile at a time! Our young humans took over the mics and the cameras to ask each other what they enjoyed most about the experience 🤩

08/03/2026

Here it is, more of our conference photo gallery showing the young people's recital of their human rights poem (now published by Walker Books), their interviews of people in positions of power in the publishing world, the fun that was had making zines and lots of other little adventures in between

06/03/2026

The Seen and Heard project results in a value-based social movement co-created with young people. Our work includes films, interviews, and a book on children's rights published by Walker Books.

This visual map of our journey was skillfully done by Julia Bakay.

24/02/2026

Can you spot yourself in this inspiring gallery?

Have you signed up for our network? Not yet? Then do so today, we are about to announce an exciting new focus group!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf1esv3z9dSo7Pa9dz7uktmUwRZo7B_gplLXXT6sXBr93268g/viewform