The Icelandic chairmanship of the CBSS Expert Group on Children at Risk (at that time called a ‘working group’) was chaired by Bragi Guðbrandsson, who at that time was director general of the government child protection agency of Iceland, and head of the Icelandic Barnahus.
2002 was the establishing year of the group as a formal entity within the CBSS with a unit at the CBSS Secretariat. In addition to the administrative setup this entailed, the group adopted a priority paper and activity plan to guide their work.
Members
The membership of the group consisted of national coordinators and national competence centres. With one exception, these members were the same as those who took part in the reference group which had been already working together for some years.
A Barnahus on the internet
The aforementioned reference group aimed to develop a website which could become, essentially, a Barnahus on the internet. As of 2002, they had achieved a secure place for multi-professional exchange across borders. 25+ institutions had secure access to a discussion forum, resource repository, and the ability to request consultations from one another.
Research on young persons’ experiences and attitudes
Other work included a November 2002 meeting researchers held in Vilnius, Lithuania to plan a joint research initiative where young persons’ experiences and attitudes regarding a number of issues related to child sexual exploitation and commercial sexual exploitation could be implemented.
Children deprived of their liberty
The CBSS Commissioner on Democratic Development organised a round table meeting on “Children in Prison” On the Protection of the Rights of Children Deprived of Their Libery. Approximately 40 representatives from the Baltic Sea Region participated in the meeting that took place in Helsinki, Finland on the 11th of September 2002. At the meeting, Mr Bragi Guðbrandsson made a presentation on Children in Prison.
