Child participation has been widely acknowledged as one of the most important dimensions of children’s rights, as outlined in article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 12 recognises children’s right to be heard and freely express their views, to have their views taken seriously in decision-making and to have receive governmental ensure support in the realisation of these rights.
The local governance context presents unique challenges as well as opportunities, which must be understood to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of child participation. Local authorities’ main challenge is to address the mistrust of children and youth towards traditional political participation’s effectiveness that discourage them from taking action. What are some the lessons learned at local level to actively engage children?
The JuniorXpress Project, a consortium of eleven partners coordinated by the Hellenic Agency for Local Development and Local Government, empowers children’s participation in democratic life by engaging Municipal Youth Councils operating across Greece. The role of these Councils is very important, as they give room for children and youth to engage within institutional settings where they can genuinely represent their voice in decision-making contexts, and therefore achieve higher impact.
The aim of this project is to engage children with a focus on students of primary and secondary schools as well as minors at risk of poverty and social exclusion, in local governance as its equal shareholders with the support of young civic coaches.
Youth needs to be considered as part of problem solving at a local level. The engagement of Municipal Youth Councils has shown that children are motivated and interested when political participation is explained in a friendly way by young people taking an active role leading the process.
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