In this compelling conversation, Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, offers an unflinching examination of the state of children's rights in a world increasingly defined by conflict, climate disruption, and political fragmentation. She reflects on the historic roots of Save the Children, founded in the aftermath of World War I with a radical vision that children, regardless of nationality or political context, are entitled to rights, dignity, and protection. This foundational principle, she explains, remains strikingly relevant today.

Ashing underscores the organization's expansive reach—operating in approximately 100 countries and having supported over 110 million children in 2024 alone. But alongside the impressive scale of operations, she offers a sobering account of the challenges children face. One in six children globally now lives in conflict zones. The number of children out of school—85 million—is at its highest level ever recorded. She discusses the reversal of hard-won gains in child health, protection, and education, driven by a perfect storm of climate emergencies, armed conflicts, and a backlash against international norms, including child and women's rights.

At the heart of Ashing’s message is the belief in children’s agency. Through deeply personal anecdotes drawn from her field visits—from a 14-year-old girl raising her siblings in northern Mozambique to a boy in Pakistan rebuilding his life after catastrophic floods—she illustrates the extraordinary resilience and vision that young people bring to the most adverse circumstances. Their desire for education is not abstract; it is a lifeline, a claim to future possibility. And it is in emergencies where education is most threatened—and most needed—that Save the Children concentrates much of its current work.

Ashing emphasizes that education in emergencies is not a peripheral concern but a life-saving intervention. With donor priorities shifting and official development assistance shrinking, this work is at risk. Yet, Save the Children’s evidence-based approaches—refined over decades and adapted across diverse contexts—demonstrate what can be achieved when commitment and local engagement meet strategic investment. These “common approaches,” as she describes them, are publicly available and designed to maximize learning across the broader humanitarian sector.

In addition to its humanitarian interventions, the organization is also engaged in long-term systems change—advising ministries, shaping policy, and addressing root causes of issues such as child marriage, which affects 12 million girls annually. Ashing reiterates that addressing child protection holistically requires legislative reform, social norm change, and, critically, economic empowerment—especially through keeping girls in school.

Ashing calls on world leaders to re-center children in global priorities and urges those working in the sector to do so in genuine partnership with youth. Nothing, she insists, should be done about children without them. In the face of daunting statistics and policy setbacks, she points to a truth that holds steady: we know what works. 

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