Recommendations on child rights and youth competences among decision makers

It is essential to provide regular training about what child and youth participation entails and how it is carried out. Too often, consultations are conducted by decision makers who have insufficient skills.
Educate all decision makers, including those in crisis organisations, about what child and youth participation is and what it means: It is important that such competence is developed before a crisis, since many crises are characterised by a need for rapid decision making.
Educate all decision makers about communicating with children and youth: There is a continuous need to develop the ability of adults to communicate with and reach out to youth. This must take place on a regular basis and include the expertise of children and youth themselves.
Cultivate awareness of position and power: It is of great importance that decision makers understand that they have more power than children and youth, and that it is their responsibility to ensure that children and youth can exercise their right to be heard and involved.
Develop knowledge about non-discrimination and inclusion: It is essential that decision makers have skills and knowledge about how to work in a non-discriminatory manner to and engage with children and youth with different needs and life situations. This must be recognised as a specific skill among decision makers.

Background and analysis

Competence is key, yet the value of having competences in children’s rights as well as child and youth participation is often overlooked. It is important for all decision makers at local, regional, or national level. to be knowledgeable about the right to participation, as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  
Few decision makers would state that they are opposed to children’s rights. Nevertheless, long-term, and relevant high-quality child and youth participation in local decision-making is rare. It is important to acknowledge that kindness or the right intentions are not enough. Structures, knowledge, competence, and a genuine desire to learn and involve children and youth must be in place in order to succeed in respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of children and youth. ​
Decision makers must be aware of the power that they hold. They must have knowledge about the right of children and youth to influence decisions that impact their life situations. This knowledge and competence are best developed through both theoretical understanding and practice. Decision makers gain a significant and valuable practice and competence when they engage regularly in participation and decision- making processes with children and youth.
All decision makers who engage in consultation processes with children and youth need to understand the ​​nine principles for meaningful participation developed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, including in-depth knowledge of non-discrimination and inclusion in order to ensure equal and inclusive participation for all.
“It is harmful when youth is not listened to – then they stop caring and raise their voice because they feel that they are not being heard. This will affect children and youth today but what about the consequences when they are adults – then they will continue to think that their meaning does not matter. This will affect the situation both today and in the time ahead.” (Siri Espe, The Norwegian Association of Youth with Disabilities)
One particularly crucial skill is understanding domination techniques and how to avoid unconsciously using them when interacting with children and youth. Poorly executed consultations with children and youth can have a detrimental effect on them. There is a higher risk of this happening in the case of children in vulnerable life situations. Thus, consultations with such children call for an even higher level of competence for the decision makers responsible for their involvement.
“We have to look at domination strategies and how people interact in the room. In local student councils, students have to interact with teachers and principals. Many students don’t want to speak out about teachers because they don’t think they will be believed or because the teachers may take revenge on students. They don’t participate on an equal footing. It’s important to build structures to work against this.” (Kristoffer Elverkilde, The Union of Danish Upper Secondary School Students)
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