Social Science Research Council

The workshop "Filling the Knowledge Gaps: A Research Agenda on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children," held on 2-4 July in Florence, Italy, was convened by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (OSRSG/CAAC) in collaboration with the Italian National Childhood and Adolescence Documentation and Analysis Center, and the Social Science Research Council with the generous sponsorship of the government of Italy. The workshop brought together for the first time an unusual combination of practitioners, policy-makers, advocates and researchers - drawn from a range of government and UN agencies, NGOs, foundations, research institutes, and universities throughout the world. More than 100 participants focused on the ways in which a stronger knowledge base could help to alleviate the plight of war-affected children.

The workshop succeeded in accomplishing its principal aims, namely: to develop an agenda and a plan of action for research on the impact of armed conflict on children; to mobilize a research network which would deepen the connections across different institutions and constituencies; and to ensure that research outcomes and products would be responsive to diverse knowledge needs and would serve, above all, as tools to inform and strengthen policymaking and action on behalf of war-affected children.

The participants at the Florence workshop also endorsed the basic guiding principles for this research initiative proposed by the OSRSG/CAAC as the backbone of the research agenda. These are: First, it would seek to incorporate the needs of the different actors in this field - practitioners, academics and policymakers and advocates - and promote exchange, collaboration and coordination amongst them. Second, it would inform and strengthen policy and practice on children and armed conflict. Third, it would directly involve the participation of war-affected communities and build capacity in the conflict-affected areas.

The workshop endorsed the background document "Filling Knowledge Gaps: A Research Agenda on Children and Armed Conflict" - a draft research agenda proposed by the OSRSG/CAAC - which identified knowledge gaps in four main areas, namely: reliable disaggregated data on children and armed conflict; current trends in warfare affecting children; cultural norms and values that are meant to protect children in times of armed conflicts; impact assessments of program interventions on behalf of children affected by armed conflict, including the development of indicators. However, it was also clear that other knowledge gaps might be identified in the future as sub-themes or even new areas for research on children affected by armed conflict (CAAC).