BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:CHILD POVERTY AS CAPABILITY DEPRIVATION - Professor Mario Biggeri\
 , University of Florence\, Italy
DTSTART:20080424T130000Z
DTEND:20080424T150000Z
UID:TALK11865@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Flavio Comim
DESCRIPTION:The Capability and Sustainability Centre (Von Hugel Institute)
  at St Edmund's College is organising two lectures given by Professor Mari
 o Biggeri\, from the University of Florence\, on the topic of 'Children an
 d\nCapabilities'. Professor Biggeri is an international specialist in the 
 field\, having published many papers on children and human development. He
  is Associate Professor in Development Economics at the University of\nFlo
 rence and also one of the coordinators of the thematic group of the Human 
 Development Capability Association on "Children's capabilities".\n\n\n****
 **********************\nHUMAN DEVELOPMENT LECTURES\n**********************
 ****\n\nProfessor Mario Biggeri\, University of Florence\n\nLECTURE 1 - CH
 ILD POVERTY AS CAPABILITY DEPRIVATION\nThursday 24 April\, from 2pm to 4pm
 \, Okinaga Room\, St Edmund's College\n\nLECTURE 2 - EDUCATION & DISABILIT
 IES FROM A CAPABILITY PERSPECTIVE\nFriday 25 April\, from 2pm to 4pm\, Gar
 den Room\, St Edmund's College\n\n\nFURTHER INFO \nIn these lectures Profe
 ssor Biggeri considers the capability approach (CA) as a normative framewo
 rk for the analysis of children's well-being and for relevant issues conce
 rning children such as child poverty and child labour. If we argue that th
 ese issues can be analysed through the CA\, then how to choose dimensions 
 for children's well-being becomes a central issue. Indeed\, in our view th
 e operationalisation of the CA\npasses through the identification of relev
 ant dimensions/domains of children's well-being.\n\nAccording to this line
  of reasoning the objective of the first lecture is twofold. First we pres
 ent possible methods for choosing dimensions of children's well-being. Sec
 ondly\, we explore the implications of using the CA in terms of theoretica
 l definitions and categories used for empirical research on child poverty 
 and child labour.\n\nThe first lecture explores two methods and the main o
 ptions used in the literature to choose dimensions\, examining the strengt
 hs and limits of each option. The results are utilised to re-think and imp
 rove the current\ndefinitions and categories used in theoretical and empir
 ical research on child poverty and child labour. A full comparison of the 
 overall results is beyond the scope of the lecture\, but they open new per
 spectives also for the CA theoretical framework giving relevance to the ca
 pabilities set of a social group\, exploring possible links between the CA
  and the human rights\napproach.\n\nTo illustrate some of the conceptual i
 ssues raised at the beginning of these lectures\, a case study of street c
 hildren in Kampala (Uganda) is explored. The methodological approach which
  includes an ad hoc survey\ncarried out in Kampala will be presented. The 
 questionnaire of the survey was conceived to implement a bottom up process
  whereby the children were encouraged to conceptualise and attribute value
  to their capabilities.\n\nSome of the results are presented and we then a
 nalyse those of the ad hoc aspects of the survey\, showing the different c
 onceptualizations "capabilities" among street children\, ex-street childre
 n ("rehabilitated")\nliving in institutions and a control group of childre
 n who had no "street experience". In particular we highlight the relations
 hip between their own\n"achieved functionings" and their general perceptio
 n of capabilities for children in general as members of their social group
 . Specific sections are devoted to working activities and education and th
 eir impact on child functioning and well-being. Children were also asked t
 o express their opinion on the most important opportunities a child should
  have during his childhood and adolescence and about what the government a
 nd society should do to ameliorate children's life and in particular the c
 onditions of street children.\n\nFinally\, the last part of the lectures c
 onsiders the perceptions that children themselves hold regarding the relev
 ance of education for their own well being. The human development of child
 ren can be regarded as 'an\nexpansion of capabilities' or of 'positive fre
 edoms'. Capabilities\, choices and conditions during childhood and adolesc
 ence crucially affect children's position and capabilities as adults. Defi
 ciencies in important capabilities during childhood not only reduce the we
 ll-being of those suffering from them\, but may have larger societal impli
 cations. Results from field studies carried out in Italy\, India and Ugand
 a\, which located children as the centre of a bottom up strategy for under
 standing the relevant dimensions of children's well-being\, are reported. 
 In relation to democratic dialogue about selecting capabilities\, it is ar
 gued that children are capable of understanding and contributing thoughtfu
 l opinions. The overall concern is\nto demonstrate what children think the
 y should be able to do and be\, i.e. their valued capabilities. It conside
 rs that an operationalization of the capability approach has to deal with 
 the issue of defining a list of relevant capabilities\, although they don'
 t need to have a universal character. The issue of disabilities is explore
 d as an illustration of the general approach towards children capabilities
  developed during the lectures.\n
LOCATION:St Edmund's College\, Okinaga Room (Tower)
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR