Introductory brochure for the Symposium, Growing up in Conflict: The impact on children’s mental health and well-being, convened by UNICEF, in partnership with the Government of the Netherlands, on 26-28 May 2015 in The Hague. Other organizers included the Child Protection Working Group (CPWG), City University of New York (CUNY), HealthNet TPO, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS RG), International Medical Corps (IMC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), MHPSS.net, Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)/U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), REPSSI, Save the Children, Terre des Hommes, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), War Child Holland, War Trauma Foundation, World Health Organization (WHO) and World Vision.

The Symposium will feature two days of panels and expert discussions, followed by a day for a core group of practitioners to share experiences in a planning workshop. This third day offers field colleagues from different agencies the chance to collaborate and learn from each other.

The Symposium also provides an opportunity for advocacy. In particular, the concluding session of the second day brings together donor governments and practitioners from the field. The outputs of the Symposium will contribute to advocacy around the World Humanitarian Summit and post-2015 Development Agenda discussions.