Published on 09-04-2025, Last modified on 09-04-2025
SESSION 1: “Young people with child welfare and protection experience as authentic knowers: Co-research on embedding experiential knowledge into practice”
SEMINAR SERIES THEMATIC GROUP
EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE IN HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
The thematic group on “Experiential Knowledge in Human Rights Education and Research” invites you to participate in a seminar series that continues our critical dialogue on epistemic injustice. Building on the insightful discussions from the 2024 kick-off meeting and the follow-up session in January 2025, this series will further explore how lived experiences of individuals in vulnerable conditions—those directly affected by human rights violations—can be meaningfully integrated into education, research, policy and practice.
During the seminar series we will examine the transformative role of experiential knowledge alongside scientific and practical insights. By centring the voices of those most impacted, we seek to challenge traditional power structures in knowledge production and education.
SESSION 1: 30/04 12:00-13:30
Young people with child welfare and protection experience as authentic knowers: Co-research on embedding experiential knowledge into practice
This presentation highlights the importance of recognizing young people as authentic knowers of their own lifeworld, particularly in the context of child welfare and protection. Too often, young people in care are spoken about rather than truly heard, their knowledge acknowledged but not always acted upon. Instead, their insights remain overshadowed by institutional perspectives and professional/research expertise, limiting their influence on practice and policy, and their right to participation. We turn to ErvaringsVuur [Flames of Experience], a practice-based research project at HOGENT that adopts a co-research approach with an expert-by-experience to challenge these dynamics. We share insights into the complexities of our co-research, reflecting on the roles we take on, the ways we navigate the sharing of experiences, how knowledge is collectively constructed, and the uncertainties that shape our thinking and work. By engaging with these tensions, we invite a conversation on the challenges and possibilities of co-research in the field of child welfare and protection.
Dr. Chris Swerts is lecturer at HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts (School of Social Welfare, Bachelor’s program for Social-Educational Care Work) and is senior researcher at the EQUALITY//Research Collective. His research is mainly concentrated on the broad field of child welfare and protection, exploring topics such as quality of life, mental health, youth perspectives, and experiential knowledge.
Janis Vancoppenolle is an expert by experience in youth care and as experience worker and co-researcher attached to the EQUALITY//ResearchCollective of the HOGENT where she is involved in the project Ervaringsvuur. Janice is also active at Bizon vzw, an organisation that organises accessible holiday camps for children and young people in a socially vulnerable situation.
REGISTRATION: https://event.ugent.be/registration/thematicgroup1
Practical: 30 of April, 12:00 – 13:30
Facutly Board Room, Campus Aula, Voldersstraat 3, 9000 Ghent