Child participation for inclusive public decision making

Eurochild, in collaboration with the University of Central Lancashire and the Open Society Foundation (OSF), is working to enable marginalized children impact public decisions in Europe (decisions made by governments and decisions about services like health, education and social care).  

While there are success stories of child participation, evidence shows that children’s views rarely impact public decisions. There are too few spaces for meaningful participation of children, and if opportunities exist, they are rarely accessible to children in vulnerable or disadvantaged situations.    

From May 2021 and for the next 30 months, Eurochild members and NGOs working with Roma children can contribute to an online forum which will share successes, challenges and ideas on how to support inclusive, impactful children’s activism and participation in public decisions.   

We plan to make these online dialogues as inclusive and as diverse as possible. We know that this requires resources and relationships at community levels. We will facilitate an online reflection event every three months to share and learn from each other's practice and develop new ideas and seek additional funding for identified costs. 

Eurochild members and NGOs working with Roma children are invited to the initial open space discussion to share examples of impactful inclusive participation and to plan how we can involve children in future events. We will then set goals for the next six months. 

To register for the event on 10 May 13.00 – 14.30 CET and influence the discussion, please complete this REGISTRATION FORM.  

For more information contact Mieke Schuurman