SAVE THE DATE - 6th BICON on 15 & 16 October

The 6th BICON Conference on Alternative Care for Children in Asia will be held on 15 and
16 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Registration opens soon.
Since 2014, BICON has been a significant event focusing on the rights of children and young
people without parental care. In the last edition, over 300 delegates worldwide gathered at
the conference to discuss children’s rights and care reform challenges in Asia. We will
gather again this year, stronger and more ambitious than ever.

Since 2014, the Biennial International Conference on Alternative Care for
Children in Asia (BICON for short) has been a major event, focusing on the
rights of children and young people without parental care.The BICON initiative is becoming so much more than a conference that happens
every 2 years. Having grown from its original focus on South Asia to covering the
whole of Asia, it is a forum that captures the growing momentum for care reform
for children in Asia. It is a celebration of the passion and ideas that exist among
care-experienced young people, children, and those that work with them. It is a call
to action to bring about meaningful change for the millions of children across the
continent in alternative care or at risk of being separated. BICON is becoming a
movement for care reform in Asia, and that movement is growing.On 15th and 16th of October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, BICON will
gather again, stronger and more ambitious than ever before.In September 2023, the 5th BICON was hosted in Kathmandu, Nepal, and online.
Over two days, more than 300 child rights practitioners, government actors,
academics, and care experienced (young) people discussed regional and national
challenges around alternative care and trends related to care reform and children’s
rights in Asia. During BICON, participants agreed on ambitious recommendations
and calls to action, which can be seen in this report: www.bicon.asia
The last BICON was a dynamic forum, dominated by young people with care
experience. It raised awareness of the harm of institutionalisation, the importance
of culture and identity to children growing up in care and featured examples of
good practice from across Asia. It issued strong recommendations for governments
and civil society to take action in the BICON Report.

The Theme of the 6th BICON is:

Care Reform for Children

A movement for building inclusive societies, resilient families, and thriving children.

The Objectives for the 6th BICON (2025) are:

1. Provide a platform for the recommendations of a diverse group of care
experienced young people as experts to impact care reform for children in Asia2. Showcase and strengthen understanding of the Asian perspectives on care
reform and child welfare issues to influence the global momentum and vice
versa.3. Share stories of innovative care approaches to inspire stronger practices to support children and families across Asia as well as globally.4. Strengthen the system approach to care reform through a stronger evidence base.

BICON is supported by a steering committee of care-experienced young
people and is delivered by international organisations grounded in different
Asian contexts. Its priorities and themes are agreed upon collectively but
always seek to convey the following:

A. A reflection of the current context and progress towards care reform for
children across Asia with a particular focus naturally falling on the host
country. This reflects that all Asian countries are on a shared journey on this
topic and that solutions and approaches differ according to different contexts.B. A strong collective voice of care-experienced young people, bringing expertise
and solutions, driving progress and accountability - for all children.C. A forum for sharing how to transform care systems for children away from
institutional care back to family care and how to prevent institutionalisation in
the first place. Particular attention paid to ensuring the inclusion of children
with disabilities and other marginalized communities.D. Global progress and challenges are reflected in the Asian context and how
Asian contexts can shape the global agenda.

Bicon Roundtable 2024

Since 2014, the Biennial Conference on Alternative Care for Children in Asia (BICON) has been a major event focusing on the rights of children and young people without parental care.The BICON initiative is becoming so much more than a conference that happens every 2 years. Having grown from its original focus on South Asia to covering the whole of Asia, it is a forum that captures the growing momentum for care reform for children in Asia. It is a celebration of the passion and ideas that exist among care experienced young people, children and those that work with them. It is a call to action to bring about meaningful change for the millions of children across the continent in alternative care or at risk of being separated. BICON is becoming a movement for care reform in Asia and that movement is growing.One year ago, the 5th BICON was hosted in Kathmandu, Nepal, and online. During two days, over 300 child rights practitioners, government actors, academics, and care experienced (young) people discussed regional and national challenges around alternative care and trends related to care reform and children’s rights in Asia. During BICON, participants agreed ambitious recommendations and calls to action which can be seen in this report: www.bicon.asiaOne year from now BICON will gather again, stronger and more ambitious than ever before. Please view the video recording of the roundtable discussion to reflect on the recommendations of last year’s BICON and look forward to next year’s gathering. Be part of the growing momentum.

• View the roundtable here

Bicon Roundtable Speakers 2024

Dikshya Thapa - Co-founder, Shine together - Care Experienced Network Nepal (CENN)

Bicon 2023

Watch videos from the 5th BICON

Day One

Day Two

• Watch videos from the 4th BICON

BICON Conference 2023

More than 300 delegates from across the globe participated in BICON 2023, which included interactive workshops, plenaries and panel discussions to explore:

Previously hosted by Udayan Care and now, most importantly, delivered by young people as experts with lived experience as well as a coalition of organisations consisting of Better Care Network; Family for Every Child; Forget Me Not, Hope and Homes for Children; Lumos; Save the Children; SOS Children’s Villages; Udayan Care. BICON has SAIEVAC as technical partners.BICONs are conceived as a regional advocacy platform to bring stakeholders working on child and youth care together for sharing, learning and connecting. The BICON 2023 is an important event for stakeholders to work together to drive regional care reform and encourage governments to prioritise this topic. The conference directly cements Asia’s place in the global debates around children's rights, children in alternative care, care reform and related topics informed by those with lived care experience are at the heart of BICON.

Reflections from BICON 2021

Since 2014, the Biennial International Conference on Alternative Care for Children in Asia (BICON) has been an important event focussed on the rights of children and young people without parental care (CWPC). Due to the unprecedented and unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, we hosted the 4th Annual BICON online, with practitioners, policymakers, academics, young people with lived experience, discussing regional challenges, best practices and emerging issues related to alternative care and child rights in Asia.BICON 2021 was a platform to reflect on the best practices and experiences that had transpired so far and consider the next steps and implications for country-level systems reforms for the future, building regional momentum, and maintaining an ongoing global discussion.Key recommendations emerged around the following themes :

• Click here to download the report

Explore BICON Reports