As deliberative and participatory exercises are gaining traction at local, national and EU levels, some politicians and youth activists are making the case for children and teenagers to also be given a voice in decisions that affect them.
Policy-makers and youth activists are increasingly encouraging the participation of young people in decision-making processes.
According to Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, a member of the Polish parliament, involving the youth is particularly critical when it concerns matters affecting young generations the most, such as housing and climate change.
“The truly young-oriented policies should be not only addressed by young people but also created with young people,” she told EURACTIV during the Budapest Forum.
For some politicians and activists, this also means giving a voice to children and teenagers.
“We try to engage with school children on a number of initiatives and drive the young involvement as well, not just leaving it to the adults or those involved in the community groups,” Emma Murphy, mayor of South Dublin County Council, told EURACTIV.
In her view, engaging children and teenagers can provide authorities with views and ideas beyond those of formalised community groups.
Co-designing with children
Deliberative exercises involving children can also give young people who cannot yet vote a way to express their views, according to Katie Reid, children’s environmental rights and participation officer at Terre des Hommes Deutschland.
Some European cities already have in place strategies to engage children at the local level.
In Vienna, for instance, young people between five and 20 years old participated in a participatory budgeting process, proposing initiatives to be financed and implemented by the municipality.
Co-deciding on the city budget can be a ‘training ground’ for young citizens
Letting young people decide how to spend a part of the city budget can empower the youth, boost participation and be a “lesson of civic education,” according to experts.
Children’s assemblies
Ireland recently introduced a children’s assembly on biodiversity at the national level, building on a similar experience carried out in Scotland. It involved a group of randomly selected children and young people aged seven to 17.
“Like an adult citizens’ assembly, it included a learning process, deliberation and forming of recommendations,” Reid, who worked on the initiative, told EURACTIV.
The process was co-designed with young people and youth researchers.
“As adults, we don’t have the experience of what it is like to be a child today. So it was very important that we had their understanding of how to make this engaging and fun and vibrant and meaningful for children,” she explained.
In October, the assembly presented its calls to action, calling on the government to mainstream biodiversity in decision-making, increase conservation efforts and reduce negative impacts on biodiversity.
EU measures
At EU level, the EU strategy on the rights of the child published in March 2021 promotes the participation of children in policy-making at all levels of government.
According to the strategy, “the EU needs to promote and improve the inclusive and systemic participation of children” and foster “a meaningful and inclusive participation of children in the policy-making process of the European institutions and EU agencies,” for instance, through child-specific consultations or EU Youth dialogues.
The Commission is also working on setting up an EU Children’s Participation Platform, to connect existing child participation mechanisms at local, national and EU level.
Overcoming barriers
While there are growing efforts to involve children and young people in policy-making, there are also obstacles to their engagement, such as limited funding, Reid said.
“Participation with children does require more resources, also to make sure it is meaningful and engaging,” she said, stressing the importance to “fund the legacy” of these initiatives.
Other aspects that might hinder effective youth participation are cultural barriers, with children often disregarded or not taken seriously by policy-makers.
At the same time, “children have to be children as well,” according to Reid.
“Although children have the right to participate, the responsibility of acting on their views and their ideas sits with adults.”
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com