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Creating Opportunities for Youth

This report details the findings of EU Youth Dialogue consultations conducted with young people in Ireland. Consultations took place between March and October 2019.

Independent children’s rights institutions as facilitators of dialogue between children and the state: an opportunity for mutual empowerment?

The role of independent children’s rights institutions is a multifaceted one, which can lead them to be pulled in many different directions. For most such institutions the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides a fundamental underpinning for their work, and many institutions place particular emphasis on Article 12 and on children’s rights to participation more generally. At the same time a principal focus of activity is on influencing law and policy in their national jurisdictions. In this paper we explore some ways in which these separate objectives can be combined in ways that challenge, or at least compensate for, children’s exclusion from political influence. Drawing on research conducted with independent children’s rights institutions in Europe, we point to some weaknesses in the current pattern of activity which can lead to a lack of impact, and some examples of how institutions can engage more effectively, both with children and with powerful actors, by promoting and facilitating dialogue between them.

My Pocket Guide to CRC Reporting

MY POCKET GUIDE TO CRC REPORTING - A companion guide for children willing to tell the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child about how  childrenʼs rights are respected in their country. An introduction for children about the CRC, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and its reporting process.

Comhairle na nÓg Case Study

This case study explores the operation of Comhairle na nÓg as a governmental citizen engagement initiative. It begins by outlining what is meant by citizen engagement and why this is particularly important in the area of children and young people’s participation. The study examines the origins and evolution of Comhairle na nÓg. Having outlined the administration and organisation of the organisation, the study examines the particular strengths of Comhairle na nÓg as well as considering the key challenges facing Comhairle na nÓg engagement efficacy. Readers of this case study can expect to understand the operation and implementation of Comhairle na nÓg as a citizen engagement activity in its own right; but also in terms of the integration of children and young people’s voices into the broader governance and engagement agenda at a local level.

Giving young people in care a voice in decision making

Social workers at Southern Eastern Health and Social Care Trust found a new way to gather the views of young people who are in care, to support decision making at their looked-after-child review meetings. They started using the Mind Of My Own app, as featured in our ‘Bottoms up’ film. Here we look at how the project came about and what was involved.

Youth Participation in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Study

HBSC aims to drive youth participation as standard in adolescent research and to provide data that are meaningful to young people, are reflective of current lifestyles, and are of value to policy and program development. Further to significant benefits within the research process, the active and meaningful involvement of young people results in important and positive impacts on youth themselves. Underscoring our commitment to young people across all participating member countries, we work within the HBSC network to collaborate in theorizing on relevant issues in youth participation, cocreating participative research methodologies, supporting one another in the application of theory, and method and promoting opportunities for dissemination and debate.

Youth engagement in HBSC forms a unique combination of integrated knowledge translation and Public and Patient Involvement in health-related research, drawing on elements of both of these approaches. Evidence of impact on policy and practice has been clearly demonstrated, but challenges remain in convincing research funding bodies, journal editors, and some researchers that engaging youth is of sufficient value and interest.

Local Participation Practice Guidelines – Sligo Leitrim CYPSC

In 2016, the Sligo Leitrim CYPSC 'Education/School Age Childcare' Working Group and the 'Early Years' Working Group came together to develop a "Youth Participation Lab" and successfully sourced funding under the Tusla Seed Funding for Participatory Practice Initiatives.  The role is now the responsibility of the CYPSC 'Connected, Respected and Contributing to their World' Working Group. The thrust of this project was to enable consultation with children and young people in Sligo and Leitrim to ensure their voices are heard in relation to the quality of services they receive; their involvement in the planning of services; and decision-making in relation to the development of services. The project aimed to develop common tools and practice under the four ‘Quadrants’ of the Lundy Model to support engagement with children and young people in Sligo and Leitrim, by the organisations, agencies and groups they are part of. The resultant project, 'Local Participation Practice Guidelines' was developed and launched in 2018. The guideline as a resource, is broken down into age categories: Pre-school Aged Children 3 - 5 years; Primary School Aged Children 5 - 12 years; and Post Primary School Aged Children and Young People 12 - 18 years.

No Place Like Home; Children’s views and experiences of living in Family Hubs

No Place Like Home is a report by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office outlining children’s views and experiences of living in Family Hubs. The views of 80 children living in eight Family Hubs in Dublin, Cork and Limerick are represented in No Place Like Home. The OCO consulted with children between the ages of 5 and 17, as well as with parents of children under 5. Children were asked what they liked, what they found challenging and what they would change about Family Hubs.

First Annual Report on the implementation of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex (LGBTI+) National Youth Strategy 2018–2020

This review shows the progress that has been made across all Government Departments and Agencies to meet this aim. The actions initiated in the first year of implementation have focused on the lives of LGBTI+ young people across a range of sectors, particularly in education, health, and safe and inclusive spaces, with a particular focus on the issues faced by trans young people.

Children’s participation in national policymaking: “You’re so adorable, adorable, adorable! I’m speechless; so much fun!”

Policymaking is one of the most challenging arenas in which children's participation rights are implemented. The goal of this study is to portray patterns of children's participation in public policymaking and characterize various adults' reactions to children's participation. The study draws on protocols of committees operating in the Israeli parliament and interviews with an advisory group of children and young people who had participated on the committees. The findings show the potential of children's participation in national policymaking to mobilize policy change and to contextualize policy discussions. They also demonstrate that children's comments in policy discussions may evoke extreme responses, expressed as either fawning or dismissing. The conclusions offer practices that may assist in preparing both the participating children and the policymakers and in diversifying the children's voices.