Manfred Liebel is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the Technical University of Berlin and member of the International Academy for innovative Education, Psychology and Economy at the Free University of Berlin. He works mainly on international and intercultural research on childhood and youth and is a consultant and lecturer on children’s rights and working children and youth movements in Latin America and Africa. He is co-editor of NATs - Revista Internacional desde los Niños y Adolescentes Trabajadores, Lima (Peru), and member of the advisory board of Diskurs Kindheits- und Jugendforschung (Germany). Currently, he is coordinating the European Network of Masters in Children’s Rights (ENMCR) (see www.enmcr.net and www.iglis.de). 

Manfred is the author of numerous monographs and books in German, Spanish and English on the subject of children and youth. His main publications since 1990 include:

"Wir wollen nicht überleben, sondern leben." Jugend in Lateinamerika. Frankfurt: IKO, 1990.

Mala Onda. La Juventud Popular en América Latina. Managua: Ediciones Nicarao, 1992.

Protagonismo Infantil. Managua: Editorial Nueva Nicaragua, 1994.

"Wir sind die Gegenwart.“ Kinderarbeit und Kinderbewegungen in Lateinamerika. Frankfurt: IKO, 1994.

Somos NATRAS. Testimonios de Niños Trabajadores de Nicaragua. Managua: Editorial Nueva Nicaragua, 1996.

"Bis vor kurzem wusste ich nicht, dass ein O rund ist." Nicaraguanische Kindheiten (co-author). Münster: LIT, 1997.

Arbeitende Kinder stärken. Plädoyers für einen subjektorientierten Umgang mit Kinderarbeit (co-editor). Frankfurt: IKO, 1998.

Was Kinder könn(t)en. Handlungsperspektiven von und mit arbeitenden Kindern (co-editor). Frankfurt: IKO, 1999.

La Otra Infancia. Niñez trabajadora y accion social. Lima: Editorial Ifejant, 2000.

Working Children's Protagonism. Social Movements and Empowerment in Latin America, Africa and India (co-editor). Frankfurt & London: IKO, 2001.

Kindheit und Arbeit. Wege zum besseren Verständnis arbeitender Kinder in verschiedenen Kulturen und Kontinenten. Frankfurt & London: IKO, 2001.

Infancia y Trabajo. Para una mejor comprensión de los niños y niñas trabajadores de diferentes culturas y continentes. Lima : Editorial Ifejant, 2003. A

Will of Their Own. Cross-cultural perspectives on working children. London & New York: Zed Books, 2004.

Kinder im Abseits. Kindheit und Jugend in fremden Kulturen. Weinheim & München: Juventa, 2005.

Entre Fronteras – Grenzgänge. Jugendkulturen in Mexiko (co-editor). Berlin: Archiv der Jugendkulturen Verlag, 2006.

Malabaristas del siglo XXI. Los niños y niñas trabajadores frente a la globalización. Lima: Editorial Ifejant, 2006.

Wozu Kinderrechte. Grundlagen und Perspektiven. Weinheim & München: Juventa, 2007.

Entre protección y emancipación. Derechos del niño y políticas sociales. Madrid: Universidad Complutense, 2007.

Working to Be Someone. Child Focused Research and Practice with Working Children (co-editor). London: Jessica Kingsley, 2007

Working to be Someone presents an overview of worldwide research on working children that considers children’s own views of employment in favour of adult-constructed arguments about child work. This book brings together contributions by internationally renowned researchers who are committed to a ‘subject-orientated’ approach as well as views and observations of activists from organizations that either work with child labour or support working children’s movements. Chapters examine the traditionally widespread care and domestic work carried out by children, discuss localized explorations of working children – for example in Morocco, India and Europe – as well as consider work as a means for children to contribute economically to the family. Contributors also discuss children’s movements and organizations in Africa, Asia and South America that claim work as a necessity for survival as well as a key to children’s own agency and citizenship. This book is a key text for both academics and social work practitioners that encourages re-evaluation of the notion of childhood and understands the complex phenomenon of working children.