Peer-reviewed article
Children’s participation in local governance in Greece: Child and youth council members’ views and experiences
Sofia Dedotsi, Sofia Martinaki, Theologos Chatzipemo, Konstantina Vasileiou, Katerina Maniadaki et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This qualitative study examined how children and young people in Greece experience participation in local governance through child and youth councils. The research found that while participation is valued as a children's right, significant barriers prevent its full realization. These obstacles include institutional and cultural barriers, as well as discrimination and social exclusion affecting specific groups of children. The study discusses ways to improve and strengthen meaningful child participation in local decision-making.
Key points
- Child participation in civic life is recognized as a fundamental children's right
- Institutional barriers obstruct full realization of children's participation rights
- Cultural barriers limit meaningful child participation in local governance
- Specific groups of children face discrimination and social exclusion in participation
- Study identifies recommendations for promoting and strengthening child participation
Limitations
This qualitative study captures views and experiences of child and youth council members in Greece but does not quantify the scale of barriers or compare participation outcomes across different contexts or intervention approaches. The findings are specific to Greece's local governance context.
Abstract
Child participation in civic life constitutes a fundamental children’s right. This qualitative study, conducting 10 focus groups, examined the views and experiences of children, adolescents and young people in Greece about the right of the child to participate in local governance. The findings show that despite the value placed on children’s right to participate in local decision-making processes, a series of obstacles, most saliently institutional and cultural barriers as well as issues of discrimination and social exclusion of specific child groups, were identified obstructing full realization of this right. Ways to promote, strengthen and implement meaningful child participation are discussed.