Your Policy Proposal

Your role is choose one right for children that you are particularly passionate above from the list (Save the Children), and do a detailed investigation into whether an institution (a national government, regional or international body) is doing enough to further said right. For example, some issues of concern can include (this is a non-exhaustive list):

• Protection from violence and abuse (e.g. corporal punishment law, online harm and platform regulation)

• Children deprived of a family environment (e.g. alternative/foster care systems, support for children leaving state care)

• Refugee and asylum-seeking children (e.g. unaccompanied minors, age assessment practice, family reunification)

• Children with disabilities (e.g. inclusive education, access to support services)

• Children in the justice system (e.g. the age of criminal responsibility, diversion from custody)

More importantly, we want to hear how you think governments around the world can do better. Choose one body of interest, and look into how they have been protecting the right that you have chosen (e.g. it can be an established policy, a legal framework or protection body). Do you think they have been doing enough? Even if they have, there are definitely aspects of implementation that they haven’t thought of. Be a policy advisor and produce a policy brief (note: it is not a research report), approximately 500-600 words (approx. one A4 page, excluding references) which should include the following components:

• The right, and why it matters (75-100 words): What are you particularly passionate about in researching, why is it important to you, and why does it matter in the national or international policy scene?

• The evidence (175-200 words): What has the body of your choice done to further the right of your choice? Use real, specific evidence (e.g. a case study, statistics, report findings) to back you up. More importantly, identify a policy gap (i.e. something that is missing that they haven’t thought of). Perhaps they didn’t consider it from your unique perspective, or something in the implementation is wrong.

• The policy idea (175-200 words): What would you actually propose or change? Be concrete, is it a change in law, a new duty on a public body, a funding decision, a new oversight mechanism? The more specific about how you want to do it, the better.

• Why it’s worth doing (75-100 words): Persuade us. Why should someone in government care enough to act on this?

Academic Honesty Policy: You must cite any sources, materials and ideas that are not your own. You must cite sources in the body of the report at the point at which they are used, using the (Author, Date) format. You must also include a full bibliography in this section. Your team should agree on a standard citation style and use this for all the references in the report. We recommend APA, MLA or Harvard styles. You may use a Citation Generator (e.g. Zotero, Cite this For Me) to help you with this.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools: The use of AI tools is allowed for the Hackathon and may be used at any stage,  research, drafting, editing. If you used one, say so briefly at the end of your brief: what you used it for, in a sentence or two. We’re asking for honest attribution, and do note that the most innovative policies cannot be generated by AI, as the quality of your submission will be similar to others who have used the same tools. In any case, please ensure that all facts and claims are factual and attributed properly, in accordance with the Academic Honesty Policy.