Promoting children’s participation has been a focus of Eurochild and its members' work and is a main goal of Eurochild’s strategic plan for 2014-2018: giving a voice to children and young people in Europe.
To celebrate this right, Eurochild’s annual conference in 2013 is dedicated to the theme: Building an inclusive Europe - the contribution of children’s participation.
The conference aims to promote wide recognition of children’s agency, empowerment and influence on their own lives, their families and communities, and the society as a whole. It will bring examples of policy and practice that demonstrate the specific contribution of children’s participation in five key areas: education; non-formal education; play, recreation, sports and cultural activities; health, prevention, early intervention, family support and welfare services; the child protection system; and in public decision making.
The conference will seek to discuss ways to implement the participation pillar of the European Commission Recommendation “Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage”, issued earlier this year. It provides several recommendations to support the participation of all children in play, recreation, sport and cultural activities, and calls to put in place mechanisms that promote children’s participation in decision making that affects their lives.
The conference is primarily adult-led and children are not directly targeted, although some children might be involved at different stages.
Eurochild is hiring a consultant to draft the AC2013 background paper. Click here for more information.
Reply to Mafalda.Leal [at] eurochild.org with "Application to participation consultancy position" in the subject line by no later than 22 August 2013.