25/11/2021 EN

Children’s Participation: from tokenism to citizenship

Presented by: UNISERVITATE

A nation is democratic to the extent that its citizens are involved, particularly at the community level. The confidence and competence to be involved must be gradually acquired through practice. It is for this reason that there should be gradually increasing opportunities for children to participate in any aspiring democracy, and particularly in those nations already convinced that they are democratic. With the growth of children’s rights we are beginning to see an increasing recognition of children’s abilities to speak for themselves. Regrettably, while children’s and youths’ participation does occur in different degrees around the world, it is often exploitative or frivolous. This Essay is written for people who know that young people have something to say but who would like to reflect further on the process. It is also written for those people who have it in their power to assist children in having a voice, but who, unwittingly or not, trivialize their involvement.


Una nación es democrática en la medida en que sus ciudadanos están involucrados, particularmente a nivel comunitario. La confianza y la competencia para participar deben adquirirse gradualmente a través de la práctica. Es por esta razón que debería haber crecientes oportunidades para que los niños. participen en cualquier democracia aspirante, y particularmente en aquellas naciones que ya están convencidas de que son democráticas. Con el crecimiento de los derechos del niño, estamos comenzando a ver un reconocimiento cada vez mayor de la capacidad de los niños para hablar por sí mismos. Lamentablemente, si bien la participación de niños y jóvenes ocurre en diferentes grados en todo el mundo, a menudo es explotadora o frívola. Este ensayo está escrito para personas que saben que los jóvenes tienen algo que decir pero que desean reflexionar más sobre el proceso. También está escrito para aquellas personas que tienen en su poder ayudar a los niños a tener voz, pero que, sin saberlo o no, trivializan su participación.

https://ideas.repec.org/p/ucf/inness/inness92-6.

 

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