Exercise 1: Why Do Children’s Participation Rights Matter?
1. Why do you think that children’s participation rights matter?
As Landon Pearson said, “kids are the experts in their own lives.” Effective and appropriate decisions about children cannot be made without consulting the experts of children’s lives, which are the children themselves. They understand the issues affecting children better than adults because they are experiencing the issues first-hand. Children may even be able to bring up different and insightful ideas because they bring a new perspective to the table. It only makes sense to include children’s voices in matters that affect them.
2. How does the inclusion of children’s participation in the UNCRC implicate States Parties that have ratified the treaty?
The inclusion of children’s participation in the UNCRC implies that State Parties who have ratified the treaty have an obligation to give children a voice in the matters that affect them. This means that States Parties have to provide children with appropriate and adequate opportunities to express their views, in a format that coincides with the competence of the child. They must also take children’s contributions seriously and use children’s views to inform the decisions that are made about them.
3. What do children’s participation rights have to do with citizenship and democratic processes that are inclusive and empowering?
As Lansdown (2002) said, by giving children the opportunity to participate in inclusive and empowering democratic decision-making processes, they will come to understand that their views are respected. Only when they feel their views are taken seriously will they be capable of respecting the perspectives of others. This is a crucial process in acquiring the ability to listen to others and understand the value of democracy. Therefore, citizenship and democratic processes that are inclusive and empowering teach children the power in their voices and prepare them to effectively participate in a civil, democratic society.
Exercise 2: Thinking Critically About Shaking the Movers
1. Given what you have learned about the possibilities and challenges of children's participation rights, how does the Shaking the Movers model meet these challenges? Are there gaps in the model? If so, how might the model be modified to address these gaps?
One challenge that the Shaking the Movers model meets is addressing the power inequity between children and adults. From what I read, this is done in two distinctive ways. First, the model ensures that at least two thirds of the participants are children and youth. Secondly, the adults and children are split up during the during the consultation sessions so that adult voices do not influence youth. This also ensures that the model involves children and youth in fully collaborative and participatory ways, which is another challenge, by providing them with a safe environment where their voices can be heard. One possible gap in the model that I found was in identifying the theme for the event. It did not appear that children and youth had much say in which public policy would be discussed in the sessions. Further, only two youth are part of the working committees that devises the sub-themes and questions for discussion. This is definitely an area where increased child and youth participation is necessary to address issues that are important to children and youth, as well as fulfill the intentions of children’s participation.
Exercise 3: Connections Between 2007 Youth Voices and my Understanding
1. What are 2 connections you can make between what the young people had to say in 2007 and your understanding of children's participation rights.
One connection I can make between what the young people said and my understanding of children’s participation rights is that although children are ready to participate, their voices are not heard or are filtered. This correlates with what was addressed in part B of this module about the inadequate translation of Article 12 of UNCRC into practice, which leaves children’s voices powerless and inaudible. A second connection is with the lack of education on UNCRC in the school curriculum. I believe that providing children and youth with education on the UNCRC is crucial for ensuring the proper implementation of children’s participation rights. Not only will a lack of education on the UNCRC prevent them from understanding their participation rights, but if they have not been taught the rest of the Convention, they will not be properly prepared to participate.