Children’s participation: an international review of lessons learned Gerison Lansdown ‘ Children as Agents of Social Change  Opening Seminar Wednesday 4 November 2015

Over 25 years since adoption of CRC by the UN General Assembly 25 years of working towards understanding Article 12 and its implications for children’s lives So where are we now?

Implications of Article 12 The right of children to express views applies to: Every child capable of forming a view Children as individuals and as a group All matters of concern to them All judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child Must be able to express views freely Not enough to listen – must take views seriously in accordance with age and maturity

What has been done? Thousands of initiatives across all sectors – child protection, education, health, media, water and sanitation, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health Broad range of approaches to engagement developed – peer education, research, advocacy, community development, campaigns, reporting to CRC Many child led organisations, child parliaments, children’s unions Presence of children and young people on many international platforms

What has changed? Legal and policy reform - constitutions, civil and criminal law, education, democratic schools Involvement of children in policy making at local and national level General Comment on A12 CRC 200 human rights institutions for children in over 70 countries – many involving children Changing attitudes towards children

Challenges to be addressed Establishing entitlement Meaningful participation Acknowledging capacity Recognising implications of childhood status Balancing risk and harm Reaching out to all children Ensuring ethical and quality participation Addressing power balances Learning the lessons

Beyond projects - towards entitlement Protecting the right to participate Promoting awareness of the right to participate Creating spaces for participation

Moving beyond consultation Adult initiated Adult led Recognises the value of children’s perspectives and experience Consultative participation Involving partnership with children Empowering children to influence both process and outcomes Collaborative participation Issues of concern identified by children themselves Adults serve as facilitators rather than leaders Children have control over the process Child led participation

Recognising and respecting capacity Assumptions of incapacity Lack of opportunity to participate Inability to acquire or demonstrate capacity

Acknowledging the implications of childhood status Temporary nature of childhood Relative dependency and powerlessness Implications for sustainability and commitment

Balancing risk and harm Potential risks associated with participation Potential risks associated with protecting from participation Can lead to ‘hidden’ and risky participation Limits capacities for effective participation Fails to recognise participation as a means of protection Denies opportunity to learn risk-taking Excessive responsibility Exposure to retribution – challenges power bases Entitlement to additional protections Best interests

Reaching out to marginalised children Which voices get heard? Who gets excluded? What are the barriers? How can they be overcome? Eg Today programme on age of consent – children from Child Parliaments- all very articulate and middle class

Overcoming exclusion and discrimination Analyse who gets excluded Review treatment of children within programmes Identify what needs to change to achieve inclusion Critical review of existing practice Reach out to marginalised groups of children Invest in challenging the barriers Removing the barriers Undertake research and analysis Capacity building of staff Advocacy and awareness-raising Challenging discrimination

Ensuring ethical and quality participation Children’s experience Respectful Relevant Voluntary Transparent and informative Adults commitments Supported by training Accountable Nature of environment Inclusive Child-friendly Safe and sensitive to risk

Shifting the balance of power Children and young people’s participation – not just listening but responding Relinquishing some adult control

Learning the lessons to understand better what works to help strengthen children’s participation to enable children to hold adults to account to help identify what support and resources are needed to strengthen child participation. to provide evidence to support the case for political commitment to children’s participation rights.

Monitoring and evaluating children’s participation Scope – what degree of participation has been achieved, at what stages of programme development, and with which children? In other words – What is being done? Quality – to what extent have participatory processes complied with the agreed standards for ethical and effective practice? In other words – How is it being done?   Outcomes – what have been the outcomes of children’s participation, on children personal development and communities, and on the wider realisation of their rights? In other words – What has changed?

Conclusion Significant progress but a long way to go Participation fundamental to the dignity and humanity of every child Need to be prepared to challenge power bases and advocate for real and sustained rights Also important to recognise that children are not adults – they have different legal status and protection rights Need to move beyond participation as a privilege for the few towards an entitlement for every child Goal must be for cultural change towards participatory inclusion at all levels of society

‘Listening is not enough. Adults must act on our concerns’. I don’t know my rights, but you don’t know my life’ 6 year old boy, Bangladesh Young people at a conference in Canada