IRSCL Statement on the Climate Emergency

In response to the global climate emergency, the International Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL) invites its members to act now through their research, teaching, and outreach to help develop more ecological relationships with our Planet Earth.

We recognize the accelerating collapse of biodiversity and increasing threats to Earth’s life-support systems. While young people are least responsible for the effects of this emergency, they nonetheless feel and will continue to experience the brunt of what human activity and our capitalist and imperialist ideologies have done to the planet. As scholars, we are well positioned to use our privilege to amplify the voices of young people who are demanding immediate change. The IRSCL was founded to facilitate cooperation among researchers of Children’s Literature and Culture in different countries; today, a key challenge is to cooperate toward forging more ecological futures for the entire planet.

Invoking the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UNICEF Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the IRSCL commits to advocating for climate justice, climate literacy, and climate activism; to highlight the invaluable voices of young people; and to support Indigenous, marginalized, and minority scholars, creators, and readers. We therefore call for action that includes but is not limited to:

● Reducing the IRSCL’s carbon footprint and encouraging its members to do the same

● Prioritizing and disseminating research and teaching about climate change

● Encouraging climate literacy education and engagement through literature and media in recognizing the power of imagination, art, and stories to effect change

● Facilitating climate-focused discussions at IRSCL congresses

In keeping with the IRSCL Statement of Principles, we call on our members to address the existential challenge of climate change by mobilizing the capacity of children’s literature and culture to foster empathy and imagine a better world.

IRSCL Statement on the War in Ukraine

The International Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL) unequivocally condemns Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which is a sovereign country, and the brutal war Putin and his government are waging, which has also claimed the lives of innocent people, including children. This unprovoked act of aggression violates international law, jeopardizes the security and livelihood of millions of people in the region and beyond, and risks plunging the broader region, and with it the entire world, into a global crisis. As an organization dedicated to the study of international children’s literature, we feel compelled to voice our concern for and solidarity with the children of Ukraine, our Ukrainian colleagues, and all Ukraine's people. We stand with the Ukrainian people and offer our support to all those in Ukraine, Russia, and globally who oppose this senseless war. We also express our solidarity with the people of neighboring nations, regions, and worldwide who are devastated by these events.

You can dowload the statement in English, Ukrainian, Russian, Indonesian, Turkish, Swedish, Dutch, Finnish, Bangla, Portuguese, Norwegian, Italian, Icelandic, Maltese, Catalan, German, Spanish, Hebrew, Greek, Danish, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Irish, Estonian, Polish, Japanese, SCBM - Serbo-Croatian-Bosnian-Montenegrin, Korean and Croatian here.