This blog strives to drive dialogue, inspire change and generate new perspectives and ideas on children’s rights and business. The blog features writing from Global Child Forum’s own staff, guest bloggers as well as Q&As with leaders and influencers. If you’re interested in writing for Frontlines, please contact our Communication Manager.
Sonia Livingstone OBE is Professor of Social Psychology in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. Taking a comparative, critical and contextual approach, her research examines how the changing conditions of mediation are reshaping everyday practices and possibilities for action. She has published twenty books on media audiences, media literacy and media regulation, with a particular focus on the opportunities and risks of digital media use in the everyday lives of children and young people.
Sonia has advised the UK government, European Commission, European Parliament, Council of Europe and other national and international organisations on children’s rights, risks and safety in the digital age. She was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2014 'for services to children and child internet safety.'
Aarti Kapoor is the Director and Lead Consultant of Embode, an international human rights consultancy. She has spent the last 16 years working on children’s rights issues, with a particular focus on child protection, child labour, child trafficking and exploitation across Asia, Africa and Europe.
In her lead role with Embode, Aarti manages a broad child rights portfolio across Asia and Africa. This has included projects in child labour in cocoa supply chains in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Indonesia, migrant labour vulnerabilities in the palm oil sector of Malaysia, gathering effective practices in child participation in Cambodia.
Aarti has worked across the civil service and law enforcement sectors, for both local and international NGOs, as well as the corporate sector. She is also a qualified lawyer in both the UK (England and Wales) and the US (New York state) and has an LL.M in Law and Economics, and a M.A. in Systems Leadership and Organisational Analysis.
As Research Manager, Nina’s main area of responsibility is to lead and develop the work on the Corporate Benchmark Studies on children’s rights that Global Child Forum produces in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group. In addition to this work, she also takes on other research projects and works on developing the content/inviting speakers for Forums and events.
She has previously worked at the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, the Swedish Teacher’s Union, the Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation – SweFOR in Colombia and SonyEricsson. She has also held the voluntary position of group secretary for Amnesty Business Group Sweden and been a member of the Board of Directors at Amnesty Sweden.
She has a Master’s Degree in Political Science with a focus on human rights and development from Lund University in Sweden. Nina joined Global Child Forum in 2015.
Christoph Selig has been responsible for the development and the implementation of the international GoTeach partnership between Deutsche Post DHL and SOS Children’s Villages since April 2010 and has been actively involved in the design of the Global Programs on Education for Deutsche Post DHL Group (GoTeach). In his current role he also takes responsibility for the refugee aid initiatives of Deutsche Post DHL in Germany and international. Christoph Selig has 13 years of experience in politics, working in the German Bundestag, the Federal Foreign Office, and for more than 8 years he represented Deutsche Post DHL in Berlin as Manager Government Relations and Public Affairs. He completed an MBA Entrepreneurship with a main focus on Social Entrepreneurship and Social Business.
As Director General, Mats Granryd leads the GSMA in supporting its global membership through a range of industry programmes, advocacy initiatives and industry-convening events. In 2016, Mats led the mobile industry in becoming the first sector to commit to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Supporting this, Mats serves on the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, the Business & Sustainable Development Commission and The B Team. Before joining the GSMA, Mats was President and CEO of Tele2 and also spent 15 years in a variety of roles at Ericsson.
Sophie Koers, author of Practical Idealism, wants companies to be proud of their work with FWF. Being transparent about their progress will make companies more attractive to consumers.
Ellen works at the Beijing office of CCR CSR, where she has been in charge of the organization’s internal and external communications since 2015. She provides guidance and support to all of the organization’s regional bases (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh) and is responsible for promotion, marketing, design and media relations, as well as maintaining the organization’s web presence.
Ellen has been living in China for almost nine years where she held positions in the media and charity sector before joining CCR CSR. Ellen holds a BA in Chinese and Politics from SOAS, University of London, and speaks fluent English, Mandarin and German.