The genuine desire to know what children and youth think and want will enable meaningful participation. Many of the participants emphasised this point in the focus groups. Also, participants with intellectual disabilities highlighted the importance of the quality of the interaction and relationship between adults and children as a way of achieving more qualitative and meaningful conversations.
Invest time in building relations before a crisis: Build strong institutional bonds between public institutions and youth organisations, as well as positive social relations between individual children and decision makers who are close to their everyday lives.
“If you only do consultations in times of crises and not in normal times, you don’t have the relationship with youth organisations and know how to do it. This is true at all levels, both national, regional, local and schools.” (Christine Ravn Lund, DUF - Danish Youth Council)
“Friendship. I speak to adults that I know. Friendship is important.” (Ella Schauman, youth representative from Åland Disability Federation)
Build an attitude among decision makers in which children and youth are regarded as invaluable resources: Children and youth are experts about their own lives and life situations. When the perspectives of children and youth are taken into account in the decision-making process then they will also be consulted in a time of crisis.
Create good habits: Ensure that decision makers and children and youth meet on a regular basis so that the habit of involving children and youth in decision-making is in place there before a crisis. Many adult decision-makers are uncertain about how to how to engage with children and youth and needs to practice.
Background and analysis
The importance of positive attitudes towards children and youth among decision makers is highlighted by both adults and youth representatives who have worked successfully with child and youth participation. Moreover, youth representatives in the focus groups emphasised that decision makers should make it a habit to consult with children and youth.
“Young people have so much more knowledge than adults know. They have prejudices against us.” (Embla Líf Hallsdottír, UMFI, Icelandic Youth Association)
“We have to be seen as experts of our lives, both in school and outside. A principal or decision maker cannot have our own perspective because they don’t see the world as we do. They also need to see young people as constructive. Often they say that we don’t want changes, cannot make compromises, just want more and more.” (Kristoffer Elverkilde, The Union of Danish Upper Secondary School Students)
“I just feel that sometimes politicians don’t see young people as experts and see that we have the information that we have and don’t see our voices. Not every time but sometimes it feels like they don’t really understand us.” (Cecilia Huhtala, Finlandssvenska Skolungdomsförbundet, Finland)
During a crisis, the attitude towards children and youth is not only important for the quality of participation, but is critical for the implementation of robust participatory structures. During a crisis, it is often necessary to make rapid decisions and decision makers will generally have to prioritise between a range of critical challenges. Thus, consulting with children and youth is much more likely to happen if their input is regarded as being crucial for making better decisions. Otherwise, decision makers may perceive it as legitimate and even reasonable to avoid consultation processes. Experience from the pandemic shows that decision makers who only consult children and youth because this is a requirement, are more likely to stop consultations with children and youth during a crisis.
“They stop considering the youth perspectives. Even if you have youth perspectives in ordinary instances because you have the time, but in times of crises it is not prioritised.” (Petter Lona, School Student Union of Norway)
Having said that, participatory structures that are mandatory are still valuable. Decision makers seem to view the perspectives of children and youth as increasingly valuable the more they interact with them. The obligation to consult may contribute to a changed and improved attitude among decision makers. Some youth representatives believe that youth organisations also need to show persistence to build a more positive attitude among decision makers.
"Sometimes decision makers are asking our opinions just to check a box. They want to seem like they care or have done everything that is required from them but then they don’t take our views into consideration in the process. However, we often continue to go to these meetings anyway. If we meet the same people and decision makers over and over again, maybe in the end they will listen to us. (Siri Espe, The Norwegian Association of Youth with Disabilities)
Decision makers and youth who have built habits of meeting each other regularly appear to find more constructive solutions to complex societal problems. Thus, it is important to meet on a regular basis before a crisis. Developing this relationship and engaging in conversation is an ongoing effort since there is a high turnover among the representatives of youth organisations.
"The politicians don’t know what my organisation does, we always must tell them and teach them and make them understand what we do.” (Cecilia Huhtala, Finlandssvenska Skolungdomsförbundet, Finland)