Participation | | Movimento Globale per i Diritti dell’Infanzia

Every child has the right to express herself freely. Their opinions, ideas and needs must always be listened to and taken into account.

Art. 12, 13, 14
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

The word ’participation’ describes how we can be active and involved in the things that happen around us. Participation means being able to take part, contribute or be involved in different ways. Children’s participation occurs when they can express their views and ideas, collaborating with adults who make decisions to share opinions and suggestions.

Through the right to participation, every child has the opportunity to develop skills, competencies and autonomy, understanding and respect for diversity, the development of empathy and a sense of belonging.
Furthermore, the participation of young people in decision-making facilitates the development of more appropriate programmes and the improvement of services and policies in all contexts. The role of adults in realising opportunities for participation for all children, girls and boys, without any kind of discrimination, is crucial. Rarely is the right of children to express their views on all issues that affect them encouraged and facilitated by adults, often clashing with political, cultural and social customs and barriers.

To this day, gender inequality is a diffuse and entrenched reality at every level of society, in all parts of the world. Gender roles, unequal distribution of responsibilities in household chores, unequal pay, poor representation in politics, the media and the world of work hinder intergenerational change and still risk limiting the ambitions of girls and young women.
With growth, barriers also grow. Gender norms and discrimination increase the risk of unwanted pregnancies, infectious diseases and malnutrition. Especially in emergency situations and in places where menstruation remains taboo, girls are cut off from school, information and the menstrual hygiene products they need to stay healthy and safe.

Participation in school and community life is still hindered for many girls.

Many steps have been taken to ensure access to education, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs). But, in 2030, there will still be 110 million girls and young women who will not be able to go to school because they are forced to get married, because they get pregnant, because there is conflict in their country and the roads are unsafe, because their family is very poor and prefers to invest in the education of their siblings, because they have many children and therefore also have to take care of household chores (Terre des Hommes, Undefended Report 2023). In addition, if early marriages continue at the current rate (12 million per year, or 23 girls married every minute), it will take at least another 300 years to eradicate the phenomenon. It will take 286 years to remove all laws that discriminate against women and girls in all countries of the world. While the time needed to close the leadership gap in the workplace seems to be 140 years.

Effective participation and listening to the younger generation, at all levels of decision-making, can ensure important benefits and a more creative society.