At an international child-led conference in January 2022, originally planned as an in-person event but held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, children and young people came together to share their views, experiences and ideas. When the event ended, they did not want the exchange to stop. They wanted to stay connected, to keep working together and to turn their ideas into action. From that moment, the Global Campus Child Leadership Team (CLT) began to take shape. Since then, something remarkable has grown. Across regions and contexts, national Child Leadership Teams, under the umbrella of the global CLT, have developed into a community of children aged 12-17 who are identifying the issues that matter to them, creating their own projects and advocating for change in their communities and beyond. This publication is an attempt to capture a part of that journey. It takes the form of a tree. The branches represent the different themes the CLTs are working on, while the leaves show some of the many projects that have grown from them. Each leaf reflects an idea brought to life—shaped and led by children and young people themselves. Like the work it represents, this publication is not finished. It is a living tree. New leaves will be added as new projects emerge, and we hope to continue shaping and improving it over time, including through the feedback we receive. What stands out most is the energy and commitment of the children and young people involved. They are not just participating—they are taking initiative, setting priorities and creating spaces for change. Alongside them are the people who support and accompany this work in different ways, helping to create the conditions for participation and growth. There is a great deal to learn from what is being built together. At the same time, this work is still evolving. We are constantly learning about the challenges and constraints that come with enabling meaningful child participation, and about how we can do better. Being open about this, and continuing the dialogue with the children and young people involved in the CLTs and the Youth Advisory Group (YAG), is an essential part of the process. We hope this publication offers something to everyone who reads it - child or adult. We hope it sparks ideas, raises questions and shows what is possible when children are supported to take the lead. And we hope it invites you to learn more about the work that continues to grow from here.
Abstract This paper addresses the research problem that arises from evidence that, despite supportive policy contexts, enactment of pedagogies that attend to young children's participation rights in classroom settings is highly variable. We report our exploration of the ways in which the child, and child participation are constructed in early education settings in Wales, where legislation and policy around children's rights has been a key feature of the Welsh Government agenda post‐devolution. Data were gathered via a qualitative online bilingual (English and Welsh) survey offered via email to teachers of children aged 3–7 in Wales. The overarching research question of the project was: How do teachers of children 3–7 years understand and enact the notion of participation as it relates to the children they teach? Data analysis focused on research participants' apparent constructions of the children they teach and their capabilities, and unpacked the ways in which these constructions relate to the reported opportunities for participation. The discussion is informed by the notion of the threshold concept, described by Meyer & Land as akin to a portal that opens new and previously inaccessible ways of thinking. We consider the extent to which the conceptual construction of the capable child maybe a threshold concept in shaping the realisation of children's participation rights in educative contexts.
Since 2015, local municipalities in the Netherlands have been responsible for the organisation of the youth care and child protection system. One of the basic assumptions underlying the new Youth Act (2015) is the mobilisation and empowerment of the family to help solve their problems. Consequently, the participation of children and parents is essential in the implementation of youth care services. However, it seems that substantial differences exist between municipalities in realising children's participation in decisions that are taken concerning their care and protection. This article provides an interdisciplinary perspective on child participation; it explores both the legal opportunities for participation and the extent to which children can make use of these opportunities in practice. It is concluded that municipalities have large discretion in giving shape to child participation in the access to voluntary and coercive youth care. However, child participation is better regulated and implemented in practice with respect to compulsory youth care via court orders. Throughout almost the entire process, the minimum age limit from when children are involved in the decision-making process is 12 years, which means that children below that age have scarce opportunities to participate.
Stephanie Elaine Rap, Verkroost Denise, Mariëlle R. Bruning
Climate change legal frameworks call upon countries to mitigate and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. These frameworks have influenced the creation of policies and laws addressing climate change across the globe. Activists, individuals, and civil society organisations have utilised campaigns, demonstrations, and climate change litigation to compel countries to adhere to their climate change obligations provided in these frameworks. However, climate change litigation is still in its infancy and progressing slowly in African countries. Additionally, children’s involvement in such litigation is limited despite international and domestic legal frameworks permitting their participation. This article argues that children’s participation in climate change litigation in African countries is currently tokenistic and does not afford them meaningful involvement in the decision-making processes in climate change matters. Having presented the importance of child participation, it examines the opportunities and limitations of children’s participation in climate change litigation.
The Child Friendly Cities Initiative introduced by UNICEF aims to help local governments realise child rights by utilising the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as its foundation. Using Lundy's model of child participation, which focuses on spaces, voice, audience, and influence, this study assesses young people's participation as child councillors in two programmes in one city in Malaysia. Ten young people who were former child councillors in one state in Malaysia participated in this study. This study employed thematic analysis in analysing the data obtained using focus groups. Based on the data presented, it was clear that adult (the responsible party) understanding of meaningful child participation is still weak. This study offers substantial contributions to the limited body of literature on child participation in Malaysia by focusing on the difficulties of former child councillors in engaging in meaningful participation. Thus, more efforts (for example, by using participatory methods) are needed to educate the responsible party on the importance of addressing the power dynamic between children and adults so that children can participate effectively in decision-making processes.
Amelia Binti Alias, Nurfaradilla Mohamad Nasri, Mohd Mahzan Awang
The Child Participation Post-Separation Scale (ChiPPS) was developed to quantitavely measure child participation in divorce-related decisions in various contexts (home, in court, during mediation). Child and parent-report versions are available. Instrument: Child Participation Post-Separation Scale (ChiPPS) Developers: Van Dijk, R. Mol, C. R. Rejaän, Z. Branje, S. Deković, M. Schrama, W. M. Van der Valk, I. E. All affiliated with Utrecht University Available validation studies: Van Dijk, R., Mol, C. R., Rejaän, Z., Branje, S., Deković, M., Schrama, W. M., & Van der Valk, I. E. (2026). ‘Unlocking child participation’: Development and validation of the Child Participation Post-Separation Scale (ChiPPS). Children and Youth Services Review, 182, 108725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108725 Available languages and settings: • Child report on the home setting: Dutch (original), English, German, French, and Italian. • Child report on the mediation setting: Dutch (original) and English. • Child report on the court setting: Dutch (original) and English. • Parent report on the home setting: Dutch (original), English, German, French, and Italian.
Zoë Rejaän, Inge van der Valk, Rianne van Dijk et al.
In this short report on the MOOC "Child Participation and the Right to a Sustainable Environment" you will read about the demographics of the audience, feedback on the courseware, what was most liked, and recommendations for improvement. This course, which features young activists from different regions of the world, was very successufl among youth: 40% of the participants were aged 19-24, and 11% were under 18 - definitely an audience committed to changemaking. Among the most frequent comments: participants plan to use the MOOC's materials to carry out professional tasks such as designing, monitoring and evaluating development projects.
Abstract Professional support of families that are under temporary protection, with the goal of reunification, is necessary for helping families re‐establish their family dynamics. Without this support, the conditions that contributed to child abuse and neglect will likely persist. In this context, the attitude of professionals towards positive parenting and child participation is a decisive factor. The quantitative study presented here contributes knowledge regarding these 2 variables. The study was conducted with 106 professionals who work in the child protection system. The results show a high degree of consensus among professionals regarding the following practices: (a) incorporating positive parenting into family reunification processes; (b) training the biological parents in parenting skills; and (c) promoting the active participation of children in foster care and reunification. Regarding the latter point, the study found that older and more experienced professionals are more open and inclined to promote participation in family reunification processes. The practical implications of the results invite us to review attitudinal competencies training for professionals working in child protection services, focusing on encouraging a positive attitude towards the parental competencies of the biological family and the active participation of children in foster care and reunification. These professionals' attitudes are a key factor in mediating the process of family reunification.
Ainoa Mateos Inchaurrondo, Núria Fuentes-Peláez, Crescencia Pastor Vicente et al.
The paper has an introductory section to briefly explain the role and commitment of the International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates (AIMJF/IAYFJM) on the improvement of the Justice System, the importance of a transnational judicial dialogue and the involvement of its members in a collaborative research on child participation in family and protection matters. The article presents a comparative analysis of the 35 national contributions in this research, offering a compendium of the data collected from each country, based on the issues specified in a common questionnaire. A general photo gallery of the spaces and ambiences where children are heard in Court and the questionnaire used in the research are attached to the paper.
Abstract Background Although child participation has attained significant awareness in child welfare research, little is known about how this right is upheld in emergency cases. Therefore, the various degrees to which children participate in child welfare services' emergency cases and factors predicting such participation were explored. Method Degrees of participation found in 148 case files (Mage = 11–12 years old, range; 3–18 years; 59% girls, 48% with minority backgrounds) from four Norwegian municipalities were regressed on 15 independent variables in a multinomial logistic regression. Results The children's advancing age increases their probabilities of involvement in the decision‐making processes regarding emergency placements (p < 0.001). The children's minority backgrounds enhance their likelihood of being informed of the placement and having their opinions given weight in decision‐making processes (p = 0.010). The study, nevertheless, revealed that 39% of children in emergency placements are not involved in these processes. Conclusions Case file documentation indicates inadequate involvement of children in emergency cases. Nevertheless, older children and those with minority backgrounds are more likely to participate, although the degree of their involvement varies. The study did not find a correlation between prior contact with child welfare services and child participation.
May Gresdahl, Halvor Fauske, Anita Skårstad Storhaug
