ISPCAN Melbourne Congress - Rise Up Policy Forum Program

August 27th, 2026

8:30 - 9:00 am

Coffee

9:00 - 10:00 am

Plenary Session

Opening Plenary

Welcome to the Rise Up community of practice and knowledge: interactive peer-to-peer exchange for collaborative deep learning and progress
Building capacity and investment in prevention and public health-orientated child protection systems in order to achieve our commitments to end child abuse and neglect

10:00 - 11:00 am

Plenary Session

Effective governance and multisectoral coordination

What Australia is learning about stronger online protections for children and young people: the evidence on social media age restrictions, privacy, digital duty of care and more

Primary Pillar(s): Policy and legislation

Building a preventative and coordinated child protection system in Kiribati

Kiribati Ministry of Women, Youth, Sport and Social Affairs

Ministry of Women, Youth, Sport and Social Affairs, Government of Kiribati

Primary Pillar(s): A National Action Plan, capacity building and scaled solutions

The cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and SOS Children’s Villages Armenia in the development of alternative care

SOS Children's Villages Armenia

Armenia Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs

Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Government of Armenia

Primary Pillar(s): Child, survivor and community participation

From silos to a system: Kenya’s cross-sector coordination and collaboration model on access to justice with children

National Council on the Administration of Justice, Government of Kenya

Primary Pillar(s): Governance and multi-sectoral coordination

From Fragmentation to Coherence: How Education-Centred Cross-Sector Practice Can Prevent Child Harm

NorthAble Matapuna Hauora

Ministry of Education, Government of Aotearoa New Zealand

Primary Pillar(s): Governance and multi-sectoral coordination

Beyond the Kantian Barrier: A Ta’ṣīl (Authentic Rooting) Approach to Decolonizing Social Work and Sustaining Care for Adverse Childhood Experiences Survivors in Brunei Darussalam

Ministry Of Health, Government of Brunei Darusssalam

Suri Seri Begawan Hospital

Primary Pillar(s): Governance and multi-sectoral coordination

11:00 - 11:30 am

Coffee

11:30 - 12:30 pm

A costed and funded national action plan, capacity building and scaled solutions

What Is the Child, in the Eyes of the System?

Impact Initiative

Department of Social Services, Government of Australia

Australian Human Rights Commission

Primary Pillar(s): Policy and legislation

Artificial intelligence in child and family services: measuring impact and strengthening early intervention systems

Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare

Anglicare Victoria

Today

Primary Pillar(s): Data and evidence

Making Practice Visible: How Aotearoa New Zealand Uses a National Practice Framework and Public-Facing Practice Centre to Build Trust and Strengthen Child Protection Systems

Oranga Tamariki – Ministry for Children, Government of Aotearoa New Zealand

Primary Pillar(s): A National Action Plan, capacity building and scaled solutions

Multisectoral Briefing: Developing a National Strategic Plan (NSP) on preventing and mitigating the harmful effects of Adolescent Pregnancy in South Africa

Women, youth & persons with disabilities

Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Government of South Africa

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ): Violence Prevention for Peaceful and Inclusive Communities Programme (VPPIC).

Primary Pillar(s): Policy and legislation, Governance and multi-sectoral coordination , A National Action Plan, capacity building and scaled solutions

Interactive lab for funding child protection: • Mobilizing Funding: Translating investment case evidence into effective budget advocacy • Turning numbers into decisions: costing tools for child protection and social service systems.

Cornerstone

Maestral

Primary Pillar(s): A National Action Plan, capacity building and scaled solutions

Addressing the crisis of youth ‘aging out’ of care in Canada

National Council Of Youth In Care Advocates (NCYICA)

Primary Pillar(s): A National Action Plan, capacity building and scaled solutions

12:30 - 1:30 pm

Lunch

1:30 - 2:30 pm

Data-driven and evidence-based solutions

From Policy to Practice: A Benchmarking Workshop on Universal Parenting Support to Prevent Violence Against Children

UNICEF

Parenting for Lifelong Health

Primary Pillar(s): Data and evidence, Policy and legislation, Governance and multi-sectoral coordination

Strengthening Legal and Policy Frameworks to Combat Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse — Lessons from practice-based knowledge (PbK) in Kenya and the Philippines

Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TdH NL)

National Council on the Administration of Justice, Government of Kenya

The Safer Futures Hub

Bidlisiw Foundation

Primary Pillar(s): Policy and legislation, Governance and multi-sectoral coordination

Mobilizing Faith Leaders to Support Government Priorities in Ending Family Violence Against Children: Evidence and Opportunities from Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe

Fuller Seminary

World Vision Kenya

The Violence Against Children Committee (VACC), Department of Children’s Services, Government of Kenya

Primary Pillar(s): Data and evidence

From Rights on Paper to Change in Practice: Using GlobalChild Indicators for System‑Strengthening and Data‑Driven Child Protection

University of New Brunswick

GlobalChild

Primary Pillar(s): Data and evidence

Safeguarding 5.0: Data-Driven Prevention and Human-Centered Resilience Building in Child Protection Across Families, Communities, and Institutions

Department of Social Welfare, Government of Malaysia

Primary Pillar(s): A continuum of prevention and response services, Child, survivor and community participation

2:45 - 3:45 pm

Policy and legislation

Strengthening system responses to harmful sexual behaviours across ASEAN member states – co-creating guidance to address harmful sexual behaviours in a digital age

UNICEF Child Protection Centre of Excellence

Primary Pillar(s): Policy and legislation

Caring for the Carers: The Case for a Cross-Sector Approach to Kinship Care

Family for Every Child

Lumos

Voice of Children

Primary Pillar(s): Policy and legislation

‘Hubbing’ Our Way Out of Crisis: Rethinking Child Protection Through Upstream Support

Murdoch Children's Research Institute

International Association of Family Support Network

Australian Human Rights Commission

National Child and Family Hubs Network

Primary Pillar(s): Policy and legislation

Child Protection in a Borderless Digital World: Co-Designing Child-Centred Privacy Policy

ChildFund Australia

Reset.Tech

ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children

University of Canberra

Primary Pillar(s): Policy and legislation

Child Welfare in a Changing America – National Policy and Local Impact

Child Welfare League of America

Fairfax County (Virginia) Department of Family Services, United States of America

Primary Pillar(s): Policy and legislation

3:45 - 4:00 pm

Coffee

4:00 - 5:00 pm

A continuum of child protection prevention and response services

Innovative approaches to funding child protection: principles and country case studies for improving efficiency and expanding the funding base

Primary Pillar(s): A National Action Plan, capacity building and scaled solutions

Redesigning Intervention Pathways for Infants and Young Parents at risk of child protection reports.

Brave Foundation

Impact initiative

Victoria State Government, Australia

Primary Pillar(s): A continuum of prevention and response services

Bridging Children’s Care Reform and Violence Prevention: Putting political commitments into practice

Maestral International

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Government of the United Kingdom

Transforming Children's Care Collaborative

Primary Pillar(s): A continuum of prevention and response services

Rising up for children in war: strengthening governance and multi sectoral coordination for child protection in Sudan

Rural Community Development Organization (RCDO), Sudan

Ministry of Health, Government of Sudan

Primary Pillar(s): Governance and multi-sectoral coordination

4:00 - 5:00 pm

Child, survivor and community participation in solutions

Breaking the Silence: Advancing Legislative Protections and Community-Led Advocacy for Child Safety in Benin

Women Empowered-Benin

Primary Pillar(s): Child, survivor and community participation

Integrating Religious Authority into Formal National Child Protection Systems

State Department for Children Services, Government of Kenya

UNICEF

Inter-Religious Council of Kenya

Primary Pillar(s): Governance and multi-sectoral coordination

5:00 - 5:30 pm

Plenary Session

Closing Plenary

Reflecting on the forum: Implications for research, policy and practice: Three perspectives on the path forward
Highlights, connections, implications, solutions, actions

Additional Information

This programme is subject to change, up until the day of the Policy Forum. Several government speakers are still being confirmed and will continue to be added to the programme.
The Congress and Rise Up Policy Forum will mainly be conducted in English, however an AI tool will be provided to allow delegates to participate in multiple different languages. Delegates will need a mobile phone and headphones to access the AI interpretation tool.