Establishing child participation at municipal level in Hungary
Eurochild delivered a training as part of the Child Citizen’s project to support creation of new local child participation structures Budapest’s Jozsefvaros District.
On 17-18 October 2023, Eurochild delivered a 2-day training on developing child participation structures at local level in Budapest 8th District, Jozsefvaros, as part of our new EU project called Child Citizen.
The training was attended by professionals and experts working with children of all ages in the district in kindergartens, schools, and community services, as well as members of the district’s local government.
Day one featured an overview of how to create safe and meaningful spaces for children to voice their views. Day two was co-delivered with Mor from Eurochild’s Children’s Council, participating through Eurochild’s member Hintalovon Foundation.
Together, Eurochild’s Child Participation Coordinator, Alice Hagger-Vaughan, and Mor co-delivered a really interactive series of sessions on a range of topics. These activities included exercises related to creating safe spaces for enabling meaningful child participation, setting up advocacy campaigns with children on their own key issues, and presenting an ‘elevator pitch’ to decision-makers on key demands. Looking back at the training, Mor said “ It was wonderful to lead a workshop for adults who were kind and listening to me. I hope the project comes to fruition.”
This project is funded under the EU Citizens Equality, Rights and Values programme, and it aims to establish and sustain meaningful child participation throughout the district of Jozsefvaros. The other partners are CSYAGI, Hungary Partners Foundation, and Wesley College, who all participated in the training too.
The main takeaway from the day is that we can all, as professionals in the 8th district, can come together and think about all the challenges and solutions to meaningfully involve children in the district, and also that children and adults can come together to make changes happen.
For more information on the Child Citizen project contact Alice Hagger-Vaughan, Eurochild Child Participation Coordinator, and Ciaran O’Donnell, Eurochild Partnerships and Programmes Officer.
