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The GlobalChild team at the University of New Brunswick has successfully developed and launched the GlobalChild platform. Working under the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the platform is the world’s first comprehensive child rights monitoring tool.

Led by Dr. Ziba Vaghri, UNB is the hosting research institution of the GlobalChild program.

“As an institution of higher education and research, we recognize the importance of the program being celebrated today and congratulate everyone involved with the formal launch,” says Dr. Paul J. Mazerolle, president and vice-chancellor of the University of New Brunswick. “We have a responsibility to further the understanding and discussion of policy issues for the community, and no group or issue is more important than children and children’s rights.”

The GlobalChild platform is a bilingual electronic monitoring tool that will:

• Collect data and provide evidence to inform the decisions of politicians, policymakers and researchers on issues related to children
• Ensure government accountability to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
• Track the progress made in existing policies and programs that support child development

The Province of New Brunswick has also demonstrated their understanding of the the importance of the GobalChild platform and the magnitude of this global undertaking.

GlobalChild has received close to $200,000 from the New Brunswick Innovation Fund to establish the program at UNB and to conduct the first pilot of the GlobalChild platform in the province. The pilot will be conducted under the leadership of Dr. Vaghri and in collaboration with the office of New Brunswick Child and Youth Advocate. This two-year pilot program will assist in better understanding the many pressing social issues within the province related to children achieving their full developmental potential.

“Dr. Vaghri’s work will support the province of New Brunswick with the information required to influence the development of evidence-informed policies and programs,” adds Dr. Mazerolle. “It is our hope that access to this data will ultimately produce transformative social outcomes for children and benefit future generations in our province, our country and the world.”

Taking place on a special day in Canadian history, the 30th anniversary of Canada’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the online launch event featured several prominent children’s rights experts, practitioners, academics, and the voices of children who contributed to and supported this important work. In addition, the very first public demonstration of the platform was displayed.

Media contact: Kristen d’Entremont