CFJ-EN ANNUAL SEMINAR 2025
Bridging Child Protection and Child Justice
Enhancing collaborations for child-centred justice systems
22-24 OCTOBER 2025 | ATHENS, GREECE | IN-PERSON
Join us for the Child Friendly Justice European Network's fourth annual seminar.
Co-organised by Defence for Children International Greece, with the support of the Greek Ministry of Justice, this year’s seminar will open a vital space for exchange on how child protection and child justice systems can work hand in hand.
The seminar will shine a light on the realities children face when in contact with justice systems — as victims, suspects, witnesses, or in civil and administrative proceedings. Too often, children in these contexts face systemic violence, heightened vulnerability, and a lack of coordinated support.
Our goal is to build a shared understanding of these challenges and highlight the urgent need for integrated, child rights-based responses. By bringing together experts, practitioners, and policymakers, the seminar will showcase promising practices and inspire collective strategies to ensure that every child receives the protection and justice they deserve.
Objectives
1/ Explore ways to strengthen the capacity and role of child protection systems in Europe
This includes fostering inter-agency cooperation within the justice system, examining support structures such as education, therapeutic care, family and social interventions, and developing strategies to enhance the capacity of child protection systems. It also involves advocating for adequate allocation of resources.
2/ Promote child rights-based responses and gatekeeping mechanisms to protect children in contact with the justice system
This means addressing the impact of protective versus punitive responses on children’s psychological, neurological, emotional, and social development. It also requires avoiding harmful placements, such as in prisons, psychiatric institutions, residential care institutions, facilities segregating children with disabilities, and detention centres for migrant children. Effective responses typically involve integrated, multidisciplinary models such as the Barnahus model, as well as rehabilitation and reintegration strategies that prioritise care and support and rely on shared responsibilities among a range of protection and care actors.
3/ Ensure continuity of care in protection systems for children in contact with the law
Strengthening continuity of care means ensuring that protection and justice systems support children through key transitions — for example, children below the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) or those transitioning into adulthood — without shifting them into punitive or exclusionary frameworks.
4/ Spotlight complex cases where children face heightened risks and rights violations
These include issues in the digital space, domestic violence, transnational cases, family law disputes, and situations involving children with imprisoned parents. The focus will be on strengthening child protection and justice systems to respond effectively to these challenges.
Wednesday 22 October 2025
8:00 - 8:30 PM
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Welcome and opening speeches
8:30 - 11:30 PM
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Networking Dinner
Thursday 23 October 2025
9:30 AM - 1:30 PM
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Opening Words
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Keynote Speech: Rethinking justice and child protection through the lens of neuropsychology
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Circle of Inspiration: Strengthen the capacities and the roles of child protection systems in Europe
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Circle of Inspiration: Promote child rights-based responses and gatekeeping mechanisms to protect children in contact with the justice system
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Live Podcast 1: Spotlighting complexity: meeting the needs of children facing specific risks
2:45 - 5:45 PM
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Workshop Sessions 1–4
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Workshop Sessions 5–8
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Keynote Talk: Telling a different story: media, stigma, and children’s rights
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Wrap-up of the Day
Friday 24 October 2025
9:30 AM - 1:00 PM
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Human Libraries
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Live Podcast 2: Continuity of care across the life course: from early childhood to adulthood
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Closing Plenary & Key Take-Aways
2:30 - 5:30 PM
(optional - open to Annual Seminar participants)
CFJ-EN Academic Seminar on children below the minimum age of criminal responsibility
Huw Williams
Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology
Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement, University of Exeter
W. Huw Williams holds a PhD and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and is a qualified Clinical Neuropsychologist. He is a Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology and Co-Director of the Centre for Clinical Neuropsychology Research (CCNR) at the University of Exeter. He has received numerous grants in brain trauma research and has published over 100 articles (H-Index 35). He has been recognised with awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award of the British Psychological Society (Neuropsychology), and was recently made a fellow of the Salzburg Academy. Current projects focus on stress in police officers. He has advised various UK and Northern Ireland government bodies (e.g. the Ministry of Justice), health agencies (NICE), and international organisations (UNICEF, UNODC, UNESCO). He is leading initiatives to improve the assessment of brain trauma in prisoners, as well as efforts to address adversity and neglect in childhood. For example, his work has contributed to the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, the protection of children in war settings, and a review of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. He also serves as Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Partnerships at the University of Exeter’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Speakers
Workshops and activities
We're aiming to make the Annual Seminar as interactive as possible, providing a space for participants to learn about each other's work and exchange ideas. You'll be able to participate in several different types of activity across the two days of the conference.
Workshops
Dive into focused, interactive sessions where experts guide participants through real challenges and solutions in child protection and justice. With two rounds of parallel workshops, you’ll have the chance to join discussions, exchange experiences, and bolster your knowledge and skills in a small group setting.
Topics include:
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Parent-teen mediation skills
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Young children facing detention
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Continuity of care across fragmented systems, and the role of NGOs
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Gaps in protection of Ukrainian children
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Protecting child victims of trafficking
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Best practice in child-friendly justice - examples from Greece
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How to coordinate child protection and child justice
Human Libraries
Meet “living books” – individuals with unique stories and experiences to share. Move freely through the room, listen to their journeys, and ask questions. This format offers a powerful way to connect, learn, and see child protection and justice from diverse, personal perspectives.
Circles of Inspiration
Join a large-group dialogue where leading voices explore key themes shaping child protection and justice. Each circle brings together inspiring speakers and participants to exchange ideas, share practices, and envision better systems for children.
Visual Showcase
We're dedicating one part of the venue to posters and creative displays, highlighting organisations, projects, and initiatives in child protection and justice. This is your chance to browse, connect, and be inspired by the work of peers across Europe and beyond. It also offers you a space to tell people about your own organisation’s work.
Live Podcast
Be part of a live conversation where experts and young voices tackle pressing issues in child justice and protection. We’ll be holding two sessions: the first looks at how to meet the needs of children facing specific risks; the second explores how to provide continuity of care across a lifetime.
Cultural Event
Theatre Performance by our Young Justice Transformers
We are pleased to introduce Aikaterini Papageorgiou, theatre director for this year’s cultural event and Artistic Director of Theatro Bellos. Based in Athens, Aikaterini has led the theatre workshop at Korydallos men’s prison, bringing artistic practice into spaces of reflection and rehabilitation.
Aikaterini has a rich background in the arts, having studied Theatre Practice at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and earned her MA in Theatre Directing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her work blends artistic expression with themes of justice, inclusion, and social reflection.
Ms Aikaterini collaborates with DCI Greece in the Young Justice Transformers Programme -funded by CFJ-EN - aiming at rehabilitating and empowering children and young people who have been in contact with justice system. Come and meet them at their first stop at Theatre Mpellos!
A Mock Trial Brought to the Stage
Under Aikaterini’s direction, this year’s performance will take the form of a mock trial theatre piece, created in collaboration with the Young Justice Transformers, who will also be the main actors.
Through workshops and rehearsals, the group has collectively developed a fictional judicial case inspired by stories of children in contact with the justice system. The performance invites participants to engage in courtroom debate, offering a powerful and deeply personal insight into navigating justice as a child in Europe.
The piece will culminate in a staged court decision, followed by a live discussion with the audience on justice, fairness, rehabilitation, and children’s rights.
First-come, first-served
We warmly invite you to book your ticket for this one-of-a-kind event. With a donation of 10 euros, you’ll be supporting the participation of the Young Justice Transformers and helping to bring the voices of children in contact with the justice system to the stage.
A special thank you goes to Aikaterini Papageorgiou, who has made this unique collaboration possible at Theatro Bellos.
Don’t miss this meaningful experience. Reserve your spot today and witness a performance that will both challenge and inspire you.
Places are limited and tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Academic Seminar 2025
Friday 24 October, 2.30 – 5.30 pm
Right after this year’s Annual Seminar, CFJ-EN will host its second Academic Seminar, open to all participants. This year we’ll be focussing on how different European countries treat children who fall below the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) when they come into contact with the justice system. The MACR varies widely across jurisdictions, and responses range from welfare-based support to more punitive measures.
Key questions we’ll be discussing include:
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How do justice systems respond to these children?
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How do international standards shape national laws?
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What are the most effective child-friendly responses?
Organised by CFJ-EN, the seminar contributes to our ongoing research mapping how children are treated in justice systems across Europe, and the disparities that exist. We hope to provide a comprehensive legal online mapping tool for policymakers, academics and practitioners, and to facilitate an exchange of ideas between professionals from across the continent.
Early Bird Special
This rate is now closed
Take advantage of our Early Bird rate of €60 available from 12th May until 15th July 2025. This special rate allows you to enjoy all that the conference has to offer at a reduced cost.*
Standard Registration
After the Early Bird period, the registration fee will be €90. The deadline to register is the 25th September 2025. Ensure your spot at the conference by registering early!*
Networking Dinner
An optional networking dinner will be held on Wednesday 22 October, for an additional €30. Places are limited, so be sure to get in early!*
Support a Young Participant
Consider supporting a young person’s participation at our conference. Your contribution of €30 will help enable a young person with experience of the justice system to attend this event.*
*Please note: Eventbrite will add a 4% + €0.99 handling fee to the cost of your ticket.
Please note: the call for proposals is now closed
We are excited to invite participants to submit proposals for workshops or interactive sessions at this year’s Annual Seminar.
On Thursday afternoon, the programme will feature two rounds of four parallel workshops, each lasting 50 minutes. Workshop organisers are asked to identify a moderator. Note-taking will be carried out by the CFJ-EN operational team and/or a CFJ-EN Member.
Over the course of the 1.5-day seminar, there will also be two rounds of Human Libraries (1h15 each), featuring 10 unique “living books” in every round. In addition, the programme will include two sessions of Circles of Inspiration, each lasting 1h15 and bringing together around 50 participants.
Format
This edition of the CFJ-EN Annual Seminar will be highly interactive. To ensure this, we welcome proposals for different session formats, including:
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Workshop
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Circle of Inspiration
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Human Library
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Poster Presentation
Themes for Submission
Workshops will focus on the following themes:
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Strengthening the capacities of child protection and justice systems
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Promoting child-rights-based approaches
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Ensuring continuity of care
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Spotlighting complex cases: challenges and opportunities
Child and youth participation
The participation of children and young people is at the heart of our events. This, of course, must be properly inclusive and age appropriate. Children will participate throughout the CFJ-EN's annual seminar 2025, from a keynote address by a Young Justice Transformer, to youth discussants in every plenary session, as well as their active involvement in our Human Library and Circles of Inspiration.
Why join?
photo by Simon Blackley
Other important information
Registration and Participation
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Registration for the annual seminar is mandatory. You will not be able to participate if you do not register.
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Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
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This is an in-person event; hybrid participation will not be available.
Funding
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The Annual Seminar is co-funded by the European Union.
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It is organised by the CFJ-EN and Defence for Children International Greece, with logistical support from the CFJ-EN operational team.
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The event is held with the support of the Ministry of Justice of Greece.
Contact
For any questions regarding the CFJ-EN Annual Seminar 2025, please contact:
Mariama Diallo - Coordinator
Stefania Kulaj - Assistant Coordinator
Organisers
With the support of
