Partner Advisory Board 2023
Global Child Forum
Global Child Forum’s Partner Advisory Board 2023
The Global Child Forum Partner Advisory Board (PAB) meeting at the Stockholm Royal Palace 2023 was held on October 3rd, and brought together the organisation’s financial partners and collaborators to discuss how to best advance children’s rights in the corporate sector to meet new challenges.
King Carl XVI Gustaf, Honorary Chairman of Global Child Forum, opened the meeting by acknowledging that members of PAB are important to the organisation, saying “as members of the Board, your insights and expertise play a crucial role in shaping Global Child Forum’s initiatives and strategies.”
Children’s rights in focus
Welcome remarks from Annette Brodin Rampe, Chair of the Board, paid special thanks to the organisation’s most recent funding partner, Penser Bank.
Katarina Mellström, Global Child Forum’s Secretary General followed by setting the stage and acknowledging that the EU is making advances with the forthcoming EU legislation mandating corporate disclosure of human rights impact. However, as she noted, we must ensure that children’s rights remain a focus, even if not explicitly required in reporting. She also mentioned Global Child Forum’s work during the past year in refining the organisation’s strategy, and channeling resources toward Global Child Forum’s key differentiator: the organisation’s benchmark reports.
Set for release in late October, the next global report has become central to Global Child Forum’s operations. Katarina expressed great gratitude for the support and engagement provided by our financial partners. This is crucial for the survival of Global Child Forum.
Looking at lasting impact
Nic Van Der Jagt, Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation Manager from IKEA Foundation, one of Global Child Forum’s long-term sponsors, spoke about IKEA’s reliance on its Theory of Change (ToC) to structure its learning and processes to pursue a lasting social impact.
Filippa Bergin, Head of Strategy, Impact & Growth at Global Child Forum, presented Global Child Forum’s Theory of Change, highlighting principles like peer pressure and influence.
Encouragingly, this year’s results validate the effectiveness of the organisation’s efforts following three years of refinement and innovation. For the first time, Global Child Forum can conclusively demonstrate through data that we are making a tangible impact on the companies we aim to influence.
Global Child Forum’s newly released Impact Report can be found here.
Collaboration and transparency
Payal Jain, Head of Social Sustainability, H&M Group, and Diana Amini, Head of Community Programs, H&M Move, spoke about their collaboration with Global Child Forum to address children’s rights within their sector.
H&M Group is dedicated to lead the change in the fashion industry through collaboration and transparency, with a strong focus on addressing climate change. H&M Group acknowledged how they addressed child labour issues in the past and reports zero cases in the first tier, with proactive measures in place for future occurrences.
Challenges in children’s rights, traceability in cotton production and responsible marketing in the digital age, were discussed. Their cooperation with Global Child Forum reflects their commitment to integrating child rights into all aspects of their work.
A new funding partnership
Global Child Forum’s Matthew Goodwin, Head of Sustainable Investing, introduced the organisation’s new funding partner represented by Jenny Penser, Member of the Board, Erik Penser Bank, and Jonas Thulin, Head of Asset Management.
The discussion centred on how Global Child Forum’s benchmark data can unlock opportunities for the financial sector. The financial sector is crucial in Global Child Forum’s theory of change and corporate engagement strategy.
Jonas Thulin emphasised the significance of ESG data for investors, particularly in risk assessment, noting that Global Child Forum’s data proved invaluable to them, complementing other ESG sources. He also stressed the importance of high-quality and reliable data, qualities the organisation’s data possesses.
Making children’s rights a reality
Her Majesty, Queen Silvia, closed the meeting, saying, “The accomplishments we celebrate today exemplify the positive outcomes that can be achieved through sustained dedication to children’s rights. We must carry forward the spirit of collaboration that has been the hallmark of today’s discussions.”
Read more about Global Child Forum’s Partner Advisory Board 2023 at Kungahuset.
Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden
The accomplishments we celebrate today exemplify the positive outcomes that can be achieved through sustained dedication to children’s rights. We must carry forward the spirit of collaboration that has been the hallmark of today’s discussions.
Impact report
Together we create impact
Our mission is to influence companies to elevate their action for children’s rights, making a positive difference on a global scale.
How is this achieved? Take a look at our latest Impact Report.
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