Children’s Participation: A Journey Still Unfolding
Children’s Participation: A Journey Still Unfolding

Summary/Abstract: In 1989, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child introduced a radical new principle: that children are entitled to express their views on all matters of concern to them and to have them given due weight. In the interceding 30 years, the global impact of this right, commonly described as participation, has been significant. Across the world, it has stimulated new laws, policies, programmes, projects, tools, and research, as well as a questioning of traditional attitudes towards children. However, there is still a huge journey to be travelled with too many children still denied the right to influence the most basic decisions – in the justice system, in health care, in the family, in education, in relation to getting married. This article explores the progress made and analyses the multiple barriers that still need to be overcome before the right of every child to be listened to in all spheres of life is actually realized.

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