First International Care Leavers’ Convention: Event Report

Udayan Care, SOS Children’s Villages, University of Hildesheim and Kinderperspectief , 2021

Udayan Care (India), SOS Children’s Villages, University of Hildesheim (Germany) and Kinderperspectief (Netherlands) joined hands in March 2020 to convene the first-ever international convention for Care Leavers, and it was planned in New Delhi, India, in March 2020. The organising committee closely observed the developments from March to August and continued to virtually meet and engage with the Care Leavers transnationally. A landscape survey was followed by a series of webinars from June-July with 100 young Care Leavers globally to understand the challenges they were going through during the pandemic and their needs around COVID-19. 11 gaps were identified, thus setting forth a set of recommendations in the form of “Care Leavers Declaration” to mitigate these risks. This report is a compilation of different stages of the whole convention, its various components and discussions which happened across the two months period and aims to serve as a guidebook for Care Leaver networks and organizations working with Care Leavers to seek inputs from, as well as for policymakers to understand this cohort better to develop policies in keeping with their dreams and aspirations. The report hopefully would serve as a tool for the planning of the next International Care Leavers Convention in 2022, led by Care Leavers themselves.

Share This Post