about us
Founded in 2014 in Brussels as a not-for-profit organisation, Child Circle is a centre of expertise and public interest engagement to protect children from violence and promote their rights in Europe.
Small cogs help move bigger wheels.
We help connect action at European and national levels and we help connect policy and practice. Child Circle supports policy makers, IGOs, NGOs, practitioners and academics through project activities in over twenty countries.
Our Founding Members Rebecca O’Donnell and Olivia Lind Haldorsson are specialists in EU child rights and child protection. Rebecca O’Donnell currently directs the work of Child Circle and works with inhouse expert contacts on different projects. In Child Circle, we come together to strengthen work across professions and across borders.
Members
Rebecca O’Donnell
Rebecca O’Donnell is an Irish barrister who has been working in Brussels for over twenty years. She is a Founding Member and the director of Child Circle. Her areas of expertise include European policy development and advocacy, child friendly justice, children in migration, strategic litigation support and capacity building. She previously worked as senior child protection advisor for Save the Children’s EU office and as a partner in the EU office of an international law firm.
Jyothi Kanics
Jyothi Kanics is a human rights advocate with a specialisation in children’s rights. She has been working on children’s rights on an international and European level for more than twenty years. Her areas of expertise include child protection, child participation and strategic planning f advocacy work. She has previously worked with UNHCR, UNICEF, the Irish Refugee Council, Save the Children and OSCE ODIHR. She became an Associate Member of Child Circle in 2019. She is currently based in Switzerland.
Olivia Lind Haldorsson
Olivia Lind Haldorsson is a public affairs professional and children’s rights’ advocate with extensive experience of children’s rights in EU Internal and External Affairs. She is a Founding Member of Child Circle. Olivia stepped down as co-director of Child Circle in September 2019 and has taken up the role as Senior Advisor and Head of Unit of the Children at Risk Unit at CBSS in Stockholm. She remains a member of Child Circle, without active responsibilities.
Our Policy for Safeguarding Children
Child Circle is fully committed to safeguarding all children and to carry out our work in a way that protects them. All our actions on child safeguarding are taken in the best interest of the child.
All violence against children involves the abuse of children’s rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and various other international, regional and national legal frameworks.
We believe that all children have a right to freedom from violence and abuse. We recognise that the rights and wellbeing of children are paramount and that child abuse never is acceptable.
CHILD CIRCLE is fully committed to safeguarding all children and to carry out our work in a way that protects them.
CHILD CIRCLE’s work mainly concerns policy, advocacy, exchange and training. Most of the time, it does not involve direct contact with children. However, there may be infrequent contacts, usually with groups of children and young people. When planning new work, programme visits, research or events, we will assess whether it will involve contact with children and take necessary measures to safeguard children.
All persons working on behalf of CHILD CIRCLE are bound by our safeguarding commitment, procedures and code of conduct, regardless of role and/or position.