Jessica Daminelli is a doctoral researcher in the PhD candidate on Children and Youth Studies at University College Dublin, funded by the Ad Astra Scholarship. With a background in Law and Political Sociology, her ongoing research explores children and young people’s agency and political participation in social spaces. Her interests also include early childhood education, gender studies, social inclusion and international development cooperation. Over the last two years she has worked as a consultant for monitoring and evaluation of social programmes and policies focused on children, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and Brazil. She is a member of the Brazilian Monitoring and Evaluation Network Youth Group and, as a researcher, she has been affiliated to the Brazilian Centre for Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP).

Edwina Mulcahy is a doctoral researcher in the PhD in Children and Youth Studies at University College Dublin. She holds a first-class honours UCD Masters of Education, specialising in Children’s Rights and Social Justice in Education. Her doctoral research focuses on children’s views of the Digital Divide through the lens of children’s rights in primary school. She captures children’s views through participatory action research using a children’s rights interactive pedagogy within the classroom. Edwina has worked as a field researcher for the Children’s School Lives longitudinal research study commissioned by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) conducted by UCD School of Education. She has participated in, and managed, community literacy projects with DEIS Band 1 primary schools for many years. Edwina is the Montessori Educateurs sans Frontières representative for Ireland. and has taught in Ireland and the UK.

Sara Lannin is the research and policy officer with Peter McVerry Trust and an early career researcher. While in her current role, Sara has recently begun an innovative employment-based programme, both developing research in the NGO sector and working towards her PhD with the School of Education at University College Dublin. Through using participatory action research methods, the focus of her PhD is on supporting access and engagement to education for youth in underserved communities, with a specific focus on youth homelessness prevention. Sara’s ongoing research is complemented by her existing educational background with a BA(Hons) in Psychology and MSc in Education, Children and Youth. With over 5 years working in social justice NGO’s, she has a wide variety of experience gained through working alongside various groups and organizations.

Katelyn Stainforth is a researcher at University College Dublin working on several projects exploring sustainability education within schools. Through her work she has cultivated teaching and learning packages that are activity-based and can be adapted into classrooms. Her research has focused on the development of children’s education and its expansion into sustainability and children’s rights. With a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education and care she has used this understanding to embark on special needs areas while gaining experience in schools. Holding a Masters of Science in Education, Children and Youth Studies, Katelyn has used her sustainability interest to research Environmental Literacy in schools as a single town case study that focused on secondary school students. She has embarked on exploring the use of technology within education to further environmental education for all ages while in her current role.

Marijke Rebel is a postgraduate student completing her MSc Education, Children, and Youth at University College Dublin. While completing her undergraduate studies in Political Science, Philosophy, and Education in South Africa, she became interested in the complex but important role of education and educational policies in shaping the lives, opportunities, and futures of children in different contexts. She is currently working as a research assistant at University College Dublin while completing her Master’s thesis focusing on children’s climate participation and voice in Ireland.