Call for sessions

Social and human rights have become a key perspective in the global debate on the future of care, which is why the 2025 Transforming Care Conference hopes to bring social and human rights discussions into our research debates and strengthen their role in our research work. The following topics, for example, could be addressed in Thematic Panels or Symposia: implementation of the UNCRPD in disability policy and services, the impact of the European Pillar of Social Rights in long-term care, the role of social and human rights in childcare policy, the rights of family carers, challenges in applying the rights approach into care policy, how social rights have impacted user participation and potential problems caused by the strengthening of the rights perspective. 

We specifically welcome session proposals and papers that deal with the over-arching theme of social and human rights, but also proposals that look into care from other theoretical and empirical perspectives. In addition to one or more open streams, the Transforming Care Conference series is therefore structured around four main dimensions, which allows for papers that do not directly address the overall conference theme: 

• The institutional setting of care systems and care policy (in terms of social rights to care, public regulation, public/private arrangements involving non-profit and/or for-profit organizations, marketization trends, inclusion/selection criteria, affordability, quality, etc.) 
• Care arrangements and practices, organized through formal and/or informal channels (caregiving and distribution of paid and unpaid care work, organization and adequacy of care services and cash for care programs, etc.) 
• Social and policy innovation on care services and care arrangements, and its impact and dilemmas
• Formal and informal care work, including involvement of informal carers as well as working conditions of formal care providers.

We invite scholars to express their interest in serving as conveners for a Thematic Panel or a Symposium. Submission of proposals for Thematic Panels is open for all interested parties within the conference theme of social and human rights or the broad themes suggested above; a Thematic Panel is therefore a particularly good option for people willing to catalyze the interest of researchers on new themes. A Symposium, on the other hand, focuses on a particular theme and is proposed having identified paper authors beforehand; it is a perfect format for creating/enlarging research or interest networks.  

Conveners must organize their work in the following way:  

Thematic Panel Conveners are responsible for:  

• proposing the broad theme of a session, preferably but not exclusively within the theme of social and human rights 
• assessing and ranking all abstracts submitted for their own session, finally selecting up to 4 papers, 
• identifying 1-2 discussants, including eventually the conveners themselves,  
• communicating with paper authors and supervising (together with local organizers) the paper submission to the closed conference forum in good time before the conference.   

Symposium Conveners are responsible for:  

• proposing the particular theme of the session, including identification of up to 4 named paper authors,  
• identifying 1-2 discussants,  
• planning the panel composition, and guaranteeing the participation of all the paper authors involved in their proposal,   
• supervising the paper submission to the closed conference forum in good time before the conference.   

Regardless of format, conveners will chair their respective session in the conference, presenting the theme of the session, and providing adequate time for paper presentation and their discussion.  

Expressions of interest for both session formats should be max. 1 page long. Please use the templates for proposals below.  

Please send your expression of interest by 16 September 2024 to tcc2025@helsinki.fi. Information about accepted proposals will be sent out on 14 October 2024. 

Please use the following templates for Symposium and Thematic Panel proposals:

Symposium 

Thematic Panel