Foster Youth Participation
Our mission is to ensure that cities and communities will have active child participation initiatives, enabling children to contribute to sustainable development.
The Challenge
Children and young people are often excluded from decisions that shape their communities, despite being directly affected. Their perspectives and ideas are valuable for sustainable development. However, many communities lack structures for meaningful child participation, creating a disconnect.
Engaging children in decision-making builds their capacity for lifelong democratic participation. Sustainable development needs input from all community members, including children, to address environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic resilience. Without their participation, efforts may overlook the needs of younger generations, leading to less effective solutions.
Together, we can create a culture of participation, empowering children to shape the future of their communities and cities.
Our goal
By 2033, cities and communities across Europe will actively engage children in sustainable development initiatives. We will achieve this by:
- Innovative Methodologies
- Developing participatory methodologies to include children and young people in co-creating urban solutions, aiming for "cities tailored to children" as 60% of urban populations are projected to be under 18 by 2030.
- Training and Resources:
- Providing training and resources for educators, community leaders, and local governments to support and facilitate child participation.
- Adaptable Frameworks:
- Establishing frameworks and guidelines for child participation that can be tailored to local contexts and needs.
- Expressive Platforms:
- Creating platforms and forums where children can share ideas, dialogue with policymakers, and participate in decision-making processes.
- Policy Advocacy:
- Advocating for local, national, and international policy changes to institutionalize child participation in urban and community planning.
- Pilot Projects:
- Partnering with schools, NGOs, and community organizations to implement pilot projects that demonstrate the impact of child participation on sustainable development.
Visionary sessions
Participation mission visionary team
We convened a panel of leading practitioners for an online Visionary Session on 21 November. Their insights grounded the mission in proven practice, revealed pitfalls, and highlighted key impact gaps that shaped our design work.
Tülin Hadi
President, Istanbul Citizens’ Assembly; Architect
TeCe Architects (TR)
Jelena Vranesevic
Participation expert; Professor of Developmental Psychology
University of Belgrade (RS)
Olga Devic
Youth activist for youth & child rights
Young European Ambassador; UNICEF/UNESCO contributor (RS)
Jennifer Kaberi
Founder & CEO, Mtoto News
Nairobi (KE)
Emer Beamer
Social co-designer with children; Ashoka Fellow
Co-founder, Designathon Works (NL)
Danson Matekwa Imbwaga
Programmes Manager, Education for Sustainable Development
KOEE – Kenya Organisation for Environmental Education (KE)
Designer sessions
Co-creating genuine child participation with cities and schools
We translated visionary insights into concrete designs with children and educators, focusing on lasting participation structures.
Focus theme & topic
Theme: Right to Participate – Child Participation & Civic Voice. Topic: Lack of permanent participation structures (assemblies/councils) and adultism limiting children’s decision-making voice.
Designer process
Child-centered workshop (ages 11–15) using brainstorming, a barometer activity, issue mapping, and solution teams. Children highlighted adultism, perceived insufficiency, and lack of participation platforms/tools, and proposed adult training, municipal mechanisms, and public awareness actions. See the full flow and findings in the report.
Download designer session reportOur project brief
Young Citizens on Board: a method + toolkit for direct child input, training for educators, and municipal Children’s Councils, plus a replication toolkit and policy brief to sustain genuine participation.
Download project brief