UNICEF research centre Director Bo Viktor Nylund from Finland is a veteran of conflict zones
Bo Viktor Nylund from Finland took charge of the Innocenti Office of Research of the UN children’s organisation UNICEF in Florence at the beginning of 2023. UNICEF Innocenti think tank produces research data and policy recommendations on children’s rights.
Dr. Nylund explains that policy recommendations and influencing work are aimed at several parties, with Innocenti submitting recommendations to UNICEF projects, country offices and politicians around the world. Recommendations for accommodating the rights of children are made to policymakers in both the Global South and Western countries.
As a Swedish-speaking Finn, Nylund says that he has always taken an interest in developments elsewhere.
“I come from Nykarleby in Ostrobothnia, and even as a schoolboy, I was already keen on foreign languages and international events. After high school, I enrolled in the international relations and law study programme at Åbo Akademi University,” Nylund recalls.
This provided opportunities in the late 1990s to meet interesting researchers at the Åbo Akademi Institute for Human Rights founded and directed by Dr. Allan Rosas.
“The visiting international researchers who came to lecture us could often share first-hand experience and perspectives relating to various conflicts,” Nylund explains.
He was also able to acquire substantial field experience of his own in international organisations and various conflict zones before his appointment as Director of Innocenti, having previously lived in such hotspots as Bangkok, Damascus, Khartoum and Nairobi.
“Most recently I directed the work of a large UNICEF field office in Syria, so work of this kind is by no means a novelty for me,” Nylund explains, though freely admitting that managing a think tank in Florence is rather different from working in a field office.
The Innocenti research centre produces analysis and policy recommendations on topics of current concern. Key themes include digital technology, human capital, governance, environment, society, finance and markets.
“We also make policy recommendations in Europe, where one current topic is rapidly worsening child poverty. The energy crisis last winter pushed more than 3 million European children over the poverty line,” Nylund notes.
Nylund stresses that Innocenti is keen to get children and young adults actively involved in its operations. Its influencing work applies the experiences of children in various policy areas.
“We would like the voices of children and young adults to be heard in policymaking, and to see their experiences applied to the greatest possible extent in matters that concern them,” Nylund says.
Another way of promoting the rights of children is by reforming local legislation. UNICEF Innocenti has formulated policy recommendations for Malaysia that update national legislation with respect to recognising and punishing online sexual abuse.
Finland is contributing EUR 1 million in support for the work of Innocenti in 2023-2024.
Text: Karoliina Romanoff