Opening Address by Her Majesty the Queen of the Belgians

Kitty van der Heijden
UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Partnerships

Marc Pecsteen
Chief of Staff of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Federal Cultural Institutions of Belgium

Fatima and Halima
Youth Ambassadors Plan International
Co-Researchers Impact Climate Change on Adolescents

Chairperson: 

Geert Cappelaere
Children's rights expert

Panelists: 

Virginia Gamba
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict 

Najat Maalla M'jid
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children

Ann Marie Skelton
Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child

Olof Skoog
EU Special Representative for Human Rights

Cécile Aptel
Deputy Director, UNICEF Innocenti

WG 1A: Children and Armed Conflict - Protection of Education

Chairperson:

Petra Heusser
Executive Director, Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies

Panelists:

Virginia Gamba
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict

Allyson Bachta
Senior Researcher, Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack

James Cox
Head of Education, Policy & Advocacy, Save the Children International
 

WG 1B: The Climate Crisis is a Children's Rights Crisis

Chairperson: 

Isabelle Kolebinov
Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, Child Rights International Network (CRIN)

Panelists: 

Benoît Van Keirsbilck
Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Director of Defense for Children International Belgium

Abheet J. Solomon
Senior Advisor Environment, UNICEF

Aoife Fleming
Core Team Member, World's Youth for Climate Justice

2A: Girls in Crises - Addressing their Specific Needs

Chairperson: 

Najat Maalla M'jid
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children

Panelists: 

Florence Raes
Director, UN Women Brussels Liaison Office

Antonia Mulvey
Founder and Executive Director, Legal Action Worldwide (LAW)

Anita Queirazza
Head of Global Child Protection, Humanitarian Action Unit, Plan International
 

2B: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in Emergencies

Chairperson: 

Rachel McKinney
Team Lead, Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)

Panelists: 

Leah James
Regional Mental Health & Psychosocial Support Specialist, UNICEF ECARO

Akfer Karaoglan Kahilogullari
Mental Health Expert, World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in Türkiye

Relinde Reiffers
Senior Technical Expert on MHPSS, Save the Children Netherlands

Chairperson: 

Geert Cappelaere
Children's rights expert

Panelists: 

Lindsey Hutchison - WG 1A
Head of Global Humanitarian Policy, Advocacy and Diplomacy Unit, Plan International 

Iris Abraham - WG 1B
Communications & Fundamental Rights Advisor, Cabinet of the European Commission Vice President for Democracy & Demography

Birgit Van Hout - WG 2A
Director, UNFPA Representation Office to the European Union

Bertrand Bainvel - WG 2B
UNICEF Representative to the European Union Institutions

Heidy Rombouts
Director General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation

With the support of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child - Belgium.