New education fund launched at 10-year anniversary of International Children’s Rights
Anniversary celebration image: Marc de Haan
On 29 August 2025, the Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights programme celebrated its 10th anniversary with alumni, partners, and friends, marking the milestone with reflection, dialogue, and the launch of a new Education Fund.
The 10th anniversary celebration, Mastering International Children’s Rights: Academic Pathways and Professional Impact – Enhancing Accountability for Children’s Rights, brought together alumni from across the globe, as well as staff, donors, partners, and friends of the programme. The event was opened by Professor Ann Skelton, the current Programme Director, and Professor Ton Liefaard, the programme’s founder. Their reflections touched on the global stage of children’s rights and celebrated the diversity of the alumni who are part of this unique academic community.
Progress and challenges
The anniversary programme focused on the progress made in children’s rights, but also the challenges professionals and researchers still face. These challenges were an important topic in the keynote speech by Dr Marta Santos Pais, former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence Against Children. Drawing on her extensive experience, she reflected on whether the many advances in children’s rights are translating into tangible change for children on the ground. She also spoke about the current erosion of human rights in an increasingly polarised world and issued a powerful call to keep moving forward.
Facing these challenges will require international cooperation. This sentiment was echoed during a high-level panel discussion with leading voices: Professor Cecilia Bailliet (United Nations Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity), Professor Ann Skelton, Ms Tulika Bansal, Professor Simone van der Hof, and Professor Jonathan Todres. Moderated by Dr Sheila Varadan, the panel explored how international solidarity and global dialogue are essential in advancing children’s rights and addressing persistent accountability gaps.
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Professor Cecilia Bailliet (United Nations Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity) -
Professor Suzan Stoter, Dean of Leiden Law School, congratulated the Advanced Master’s programme on reaching this 10th anniversary milestone. Her speech underscored the programme’s importance, highlighting its academic excellence and the vital role it plays in shaping the field of children’s rights worldwide. Professor Stoter also helped launch a new initiative: the Children’s Rights Education Fund.
Children’s Rights Education Fund
The Children’s Rights Education Fund was created to close the funding gap for talented students who would otherwise be unable to attend the programme. Students of the Advanced LL.M. in International Children’s Rights come from across the globe, often from regions where children’s rights are under severe pressure, and where access to advanced legal education is limited or unaffordable. Many bring with them years of frontline experience in child protection, law, or advocacy, but without financial support, they face insurmountable barriers to pursuing further studies abroad.
In today’s global climate, the need for such a fund is more urgent than ever. Armed conflicts, displacement crises, poverty, and climate-related disasters are stripping millions of children of their fundamental rights, from safety and education to health and dignity. Addressing these complex challenges requires well-trained professionals who can turn international legal standards into meaningful action on the ground. The Children’s Rights Education Fund ensures that financial obstacles do not prevent committed changemakers from acquiring the skills, knowledge, and networks they need to lead this important work.
Designed to be flexible, the Fund can provide partial contributions toward tuition fees or cover essential expenses such as housing, living costs, travel and insurance, as well as support for unpaid internships and traineeships. In doing so, it will enable future leaders to focus on their studies and return to their home countries prepared to drive transformative change for children.
How to contribute
Donations to the Children’s Rights Education Fund can be made online. Every contribution, small or large, helps to support scholarships, research, and opportunities for the next generation of students.
Alumni connections and community
The event was also an opportunity for alumni to reconnect. Formers students from all over the world, many of whom are now children’s rights professionals, shared their experiences during and after the programme, strengthening the community across generations of graduates. During the event, the alumni also went on a special tour of Leiden’s historic Academy Building, with the much-loved highlight of revisiting the Zweetkamertje (sweat room), where many searched enthusiastically for their own signatures from graduation day.
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Alumni group photo -
Alumni in the 'sweat room' -
Alumni in the auditorium
Looking forward
The 10th anniversary underscored three key lessons: first, that advances in children’s rights require continuous vigilance and commitment in the face of global challenges; second, that accountability and international solidarity remain essential to ensuring real impact on the ground; and third, that education is the foundation for building a new generation of leaders equipped to carry this work forward.
By celebrating a decade of achievements while launching the Children’s Rights Education Fund, the Advanced LL.M. reaffirmed its mission: to combine academic excellence with global solidarity, empowering professionals who can transform children’s rights into lived realities for the world’s most vulnerable.