Children and Families on the Fringes of Europe: Rights of the Child in Hybrid War

This symposium examines the rights of children and young people in an era marked by war and a shifting security environment. The war in Ukraine is a complex conflict that affects the rights of Ukrainian children and youth in multiple ways. It also raises numerous legally and socially significant questions.

The keynote speakers are Sasha Romantsova from the civil society organization Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), which was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize; Oksana Lebedieva, founder of the NGO Gen. Ukrainian, which focuses on children’s rights and trauma-informed care; and Professor Helen Stalford from the University of Liverpool. Stalford is a leading global researcher in children’s rights, child mobility, and trauma‑informed legal studies. A commentary will be provided by human rights expert and Professor of Practice Kaari Mattila (UEF).

As part of the event, there will also be a screening of Where is Your Home, Winston?, a film by Olga Filippova (UEF) and director Maria Pikkarainen. The film is a community‑based project addressing themes of forced migration and the search for a safe new place to live. Told from the perspective of a dog and designed for audiences of all ages, the film uses language accessible to children. It is based on the true story of Filippova’s family fleeing war‑torn Ukraine and resettling in Joensuu. Although a fictional work, it is strongly grounded in real experiences, and the dogs’ dialogues include thoughts and feelings Filippova collected in her research with Ukrainian refugees about leaving home and building a new one.

Programme

10.00 Welcoming words, Associate Professor, Vice Head of Department Sanna Mustasaari

Sasha Romantsova (CCL): The impact of the hybridized war in Ukraine on childhood and the future of children's rights

Oksana Lebedieva (Gen.Ukrainian): Childhood in War: The Ukrainian Experience and Gen.Hope’s Approaches to Research and Recovery

Professor of Practice Kaari Mattila: Comment speech

12.30 Lunch break (at own cost)

13.30 Professor Helen Stalford, University of Liverpool: Childhood, war and the role of research/ers

14.30 Olga Filippova and director Maria Pikkarainen: Introduction of the Film Where’s your home Winston Film Screening

16.00 Closing of the symposium.

The symposium is organized in connection with The XI Conference on Childhood Studies, which will take place in Joensuu on 6–8 May 2026.

The event is free of charge and open to everyone but requires advance registration. Register by 29 April. Welcome!

The symposium in arranged by the Center of Law and Welfare together with Borders, Mobilities and Cultural Encounters BOMOCULT research community at the University of Eastern Finland.

For further information, please contact Sanna Mustasaari, email [email protected].