海角社区

Professor Myriam Denov honoured for pioneering participatory research approaches with war-affected youth in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.听
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The Rideau Hall Foundation has announced the 2026 recipients. Myriam Denov, Canada Research Chair in Children, Families and Armed Conflict (Tier 1) and Professor in 海角社区鈥檚 School of Social Work, is one of five recipients across Canada.听听

The Governor General Innovation Awards recognize and celebrate Canadian individuals, teams and organizations for their excellence in innovation and their contributions in helping to shape our future and positively impact our quality of life. 听

Nominated by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), 顿别苍辞惫鈥檚 pioneering research addresses the ethics of how scholars engage with marginalized children鈥�particularly youth affected by war鈥�by implementing innovative, responsible, and ethical participatory methodologies to radically expand youth empowerment in research.听听

Denov is the founding director of Global Child 海角社区, a multi-institutional and multidisciplinary research initiative focused on children and global adversity.听

鈥淏y amplifying youth voices, Professor Denov has transformed how research is conducted across disciplines and institutions worldwide,鈥� said Dominique B茅rub茅, Vice鈥�President, Research and Innovation at 海角社区. 鈥淭his prestigious recognition is a testament to the profound and lasting impact of her work on policy, practice, and on the lives of children and families affected by conflict.鈥�听

鈥淚 am deeply grateful to the Governor General Innovation Awards for this great honour, and to the youth, research partners, and communities who made this work possible,鈥� says Denov. "This award means so much to me, as it recognizes work carried out in collaboration with war-affected youth, whose voices and ideas have shaped it.鈥澨�听

顿别苍辞惫鈥檚 participatory research approach has been adopted globally by organizations including the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and UNICEF, and has positively impacted over 2,000 war-affected family members, including war refugees in Canada. Her work has informed the United Kingdom government鈥�s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, and she has served as an expert witness in United States federal court on the issue of child soldiers.听听

She is the author of five books including Child Soldiers: Sierra Leone鈥檚 Revolutionary United Front (Cambridge University Press) and Children鈥檚 Rights and International Development: Lessons and Challenges from the Field (Palgrave Macmillan), and 200 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and reports on children in war.听听

Denov has received numerous honours including her election as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2023, the Prix du Qu茅bec in 2024鈥攖he highest distinction awarded by the Qu茅bec government in the field of science鈥攁nd the , which recognizes exceptional sustained leadership, dedication, and originality of thought. She is the recipient of a Killam Research Fellowship and a Trudeau Fellowship.