Lugano 2027

Rethinking protection through communication, participation, collaboration & innovation.

Join the global child-protection community in Lugano, Switzerland, as ISPCAN convenes researchers, practitioners, and policymakers—and marks 50 years of advancing the science, policy, and practice of protecting children.

Rethinking protection through communication, participation, collaboration, and innovation. The 2027 scientific program is organized around six themes that connect research, practice, and policy across the child-protection sector.

How communication, participation, advocacy and networks can strengthen primary, secondary and tertiary prevention systems across local, national and international contexts—moving beyond consultation toward meaningful participation, shared decision-making and child-led advocacy.

How research, policy, lived experience and lessons learned can inform stronger child protection systems and future prevention strategies across all forms of abuse and neglect, with attention to accountability, inequalities, systemic learning and sustainable investment.

Bringing together children’s everyday digital lives with the policies, governance frameworks and support systems required to ensure safe digital ecosystems grounded in children’s rights—opportunities and risks linked to AI, digital platforms, online harms and governance.