New text on children and young people's participation

There's a new book out from Routledge called A Handbook of Children and Young People's Participation: Perspectives from Theory and Practice, by Barry Percy-Smith and Nigel Thomas. It's 400 pages and aimed at both scholars and practioners.

From the flyer:

Promoting the participation of children and young people--in decision-making and policy development, and as active contributors to everyday family and community life--has become a central part of policy and programme initiatives in both majority and minority worlds.

This book presents the most useful recent work in children’s participation as a resource for academics, students and practitioners in childhood studies, children’s rights and welfare, child and family social work, youth and community work, governance, aid and development programmes.

The book introduces key concepts and debates, and presents a rich collection of accounts of the diverse ways in which children’s participation is understood and enacted around the world, interspersed with reflective commentaries from adults and young people. It concludes with a number of substantial theoretical contributions that aim to take forward our understanding of children’s participation.

Some sample chapters:

• Challenges of participatory practice
• Armed conflict and post conflict peace building
• Participation of children in the most difficult situations
• Children’s participation in law reform in South Africa
• Disabled children and participation in the UK
• Participation among young people with mental health issue
• The construction of childhood and the socialisation of children in Ghana
• Youth participation in indigenous traditional communities
• Children’s participation in school and the local community
• Getting the measure of children and young people’s participation
• Challenging obstacles to the participation of children and young people in Rwanda
• Child reporters as agents of change
• Children’s participation in citizenship and governance
• The effectiveness of Youth Councils in Scotland
• Critiquing youth parliaments as models of representation for marginalised young people
• Children and deliberative democracy
• Governance and participation

Barry Percy-Smith is Reader in Childhood and Participatory Practice at the SOLAR Action Research Centre, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.

Nigel Thomas is Professor of Childhood and Youth Research at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, and Co-Director of The Centre, which promotes and conducts research on children and young people’s participation.

A Handbook of Children and Young People's Participation will be available August 14, 2009.

European Youth Congress

You don't have much time, but the 2009 European Youth Congress will be held in Izola, Slovenia July 25 through August 1. The theme is "Challenge, Suggest, Act!" The event is billed as a response to apathy among European youth. Sponsors include the European Commission and Peace Child International.

The goal of the Congress is to encourage the inclusion of "young people with fewer opportunities," or YPFOs, in decision-making in Europe. According to the website there are 73 million YPFOs, described as:

all young people that have had difficulties to integrate in the society due to their background (mental or physical disability, ethnical or difficult family background, socio-economical status, sex orientation, criminal past, being an early school dropper, living in a remote area etc.)

In addition to YPFOs, the Congress will address gender empowerment, the possibility of a post-carbon Europe and the 5th World Youth Congress to be held in Istanbul in 2010. The World Youth Congress will focus on youth-led development.

5th World Youth Congress

Singing in the Istanbul rain

A hundred and fifty young people from across the world were invited to the fourth World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey this past March. Unfortunately, they experienced the kind of treatment from the political leaders that is too often experienced by young people trying to make a difference. According to Emilie O'Herne, one of the young forum participants,

"Across the world, the younger generations are patronisingly patted on the head by their seniors for taking an interest in global issues - if as much - and then efficiently ignored. There is little that quite boosts a politician's popularity like playing the "I love youth" card, but to actually listen to them seems out of the question. Youth involvement in this domain has become a nasty piece of tokenism in which young people are invited for the sake of being invited and nothing more. It is simply not enough."

Fortunately, Emilie and her young colleagues refused to be ignored at the conference and were able to get some attention. And despite her frustration, Emilie offers these words to other youth:

"[W]e should not be discouraged even if we are turned down; after all, live to fight another day and one day soon you will be old enough to be taken seriously."

Singing in the Istanbul rain