Participation Darryl Sheppard Development Youth Worker – Participation Hampshire County Youth Service

hear by right - LGA ‘Built in’ not ‘Bolt on’ Diversity of young people recognised Young people are valued Involvement underpinned by adequate resources, expertise, time and money Systems and process for reviewing, evaluating and continuously improving young people’s involvement

UN Convention on Rights of the Child (UNCRC) “Young people have the right to say what they think about anything that affects them. What they say must be listened to carefully. When decisions are made which affect young people, by official bodies, they must listen to what the young people want and feel”

UNCRC - Participation Article 12 - Children have the right to say what they think should happen, when adults are making decisions that affect them, and to have their opinions taken into account. Adults should take these opinions seriously

UNCRC -Participation Article 13 - Children have the right to get and share information, as long as it is not damaging to them or others. They have the right to say what they think through speaking, writing drawing etc, unless it breaks the rights of others

UNCRC - Participation Article 14 - Children have the right to think and believe what they want Article 15 - Children have the right to meet together and to join groups and organisations, as long as this does not stop other people from enjoying their rights

UNCRC - Participation Article 16 - All children have the right to privacy Article 17 -All children have the right to reliable information from the mass media. These media should provide information that children can understand and not promote materials that could harm them

UNCRC - Participation Article 42 – The Government should make the Convention known to parents and children

National Perspective Standard: evidence of listening Does it evidence how children and young people have been listened to? Standard: evidence of involvement in planning Does it evidence how young people have been involved in the whole process and how that involvement will be sustained?

National Perspective Standard: evidence of responding Does it evidence how plans have taken into account what the children and young people have said? Standard: evidence of change Does it demonstrate what changes have resulted as a result of involving young people?

Participation in Practice – Carolyne Willow, Children’s Society “Creating opportunities for children and young people in influencing decisions that affect them is not optional, it is essential. The opportunity to participate genuinely in decision making is a right, a civil right, a human right and a right of citizenship” It is important to note that yp’s participation in youth work activities are obviously voluntary

Everyday Participation – Felicity Shenton, UK Youth “Participation is a process of dialogue through which joint decisions are made by adults and young people working together – and change occurs as a result. It is not to be confused with ‘consultation’ or ‘involvement’” Everyone needs to be clear about the term participation and should be a shared understanding. Participation is a dialogue between adults and yp as equal partners in a process where decision making occurs and change happens. Culture of participation - Participation is a two way process. Participation is actively engaging in a process

Participation Spice it up! -Save the Children “The process of involving children and young people in decision making. The outcome of any successful participation process will be empowered children and young people” All Together Now Different levels of participation – Refer to handout ladder of participation “Children and young people thinking for themselves, expressing their own views effectively and interacting in a positive way with other people”

Young People’s Charter of Participation – The Children’s Society Participation is a process and is ensured by adults and young people learning and developing skills. It involves taking responsibility, education and skills development and effective communication Save the children point out that participation is sometimes confused with empowerment they separate it out… They also point out that any informed participation of children and yp will contribute towards their development as citizens. They challenge us by saying ‘make participation a reality for all children and young people so that they are empowered to make a contribution to decisions that effect them at a local and national level’