Community Structures and Processes on Lives of Refugee Children (Sociology)

Sofia Leitão, Ph.D., is a Sociologist, Senior Development Manager at Rinova Ltd (UK), Senior Advisory Board Member at "Hope For Children" CRC Policy Center (Cyprus). Sofia's work reflects her interest in children's agency in matters related to their spheres of action. She is particularly interested in raising awareness on the Rights of the Child; in developing learning programmes promoting child-friendly practices, children's entrepreneurship, social inclusion and participation; non-formal education with an emphasis on storytelling and the use of media and arts as means to enhance self-expression and learning. Sofia has directed the development and implementation of numerous programmes in the field of the Rights of the Child, including the transnational programme INTEGRA: Multidisciplinary Mentorship program to support the entrepreneurship of children in care and young care-leavers; BASE: Migrant and Refugee Child-friendly Support Services in cases of sexual and gender-based violence; HIT: Hate Interrupter Teams (funded by the Rights, equality & Citizenship programme of the European commission); FATIMAII: Preventing Honour Related Violence against women through Social Impact Projects and Peer Learning led by Young men. She is the author of a book on media discourses and childhood constructions 'Desenhos Animados - Discursos sobre ser criança' (Edições 70) and co-editor of 'The Rights of Unaccompanied Minors: Perspectives and Case Studies on Migrant Children' (Springer).

Yvonne Vissing, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of the Centre for Childhood and Youth Studies at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts. Yvonne has worked in the area of child and youth advocacy for her entire career collaborating with different child rights groups in the USA. Her work is driven by the pursuit of human rights, community-building, resiliency, peace and justice. Yvonne has worked as a teacher, researcher, consultant, therapist, award-winning filmmaker, mediator, guardian-ad-litem, and helps organizations to decrease child abuse and improve child well-being. She is a former fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health, University of Connecticut Center for Democracy, and Whiting Foundation. Author/co-author of 15 books and hundreds of chapters, professional journal articles and other publications, including 'Children's Human Rights in the USA: Challenges and Opportunities' (Springer, forthcoming), 'The Rights of Unaccompanied Minors: Perspectives and Case Studies on Migrant Children' (Springer), 'Children's Human Rights as a Buffer to Extremism' (Springer); 'Changing the Paradigm of Homelessness' (Routledge) and 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Homeless Children in Small Town America' (Lexington).