Youth Voice, Participation: Charters, Reports, Research

1/ Youth Engagement Impact Study (ECORYS with Participation People 2023) commissioned by the Civil Society and Youth Directorate (DCMS) into the work of UK Youth Parliament and Youth Policy Development Group between 2021-2023. Based on the Lundy framework of child participation this report is a good source of good practice principles and the benefits when they are implemented and areas for improvement when they are not. More studies like this are needed, particularly to identify specific ‘actual’ attributable influence.

 

2/ Youth Voice – What exactly are we talking about? (Final Version) A typology of youth-voice provision in the UK, Hickman-Dunne J, 2022, Centre for Youth Impact

 

2 b / Youth Voice Typology V1 (Consultation Version) – means a study of types. It is not a description or review of models and theories of youth voice, but is rather a framework and language to be used as a tool based on a range of youthvoice practice in the UK between 2020-22.  It was part of the Young People’s Voice, Influence and Power project,  to provide those working with and for young people with a a shared, or common, way of describing the different activities that are encompassed under the umbrella of ‘youth voice’, across the UK for young people up to the age of 25. This final report (V2) followed the circulated a consultation V1 A Typology of Youth Voice V1 (April 2022) which is also worth reading.

 

3. Who is heard where? Mapping youth voice activity across the UK, Hickman Dunne, Mahmood, Burke, Centre for Youth Impact 2022,

Young Voices Heard has been lobbying funders for a number of years to support a mapping of youthvoice activity in the UK.  This literature review, is not a map or census of activity as the title implies, but records “snapshot of narrative literature (60 studies) on youth voice activities between Jan 2020- Jan 2022” and somewhat dominated by 30 Covid studies. All of studies were written by organisations who had made space, initiated or invited young people views and refers mostly (60%) to survey activity, polling, or research. Only eight were co-designed with young people.  The analysis is revealing and a ‘must read’ – but we need to wait for more work to be done to capture the dozens of other youthvoice vehicles such as advisory groups, local youth councils, and other national initiatives (e.g.  Government department forums), which don’t publish outcomes of youth voice consultation. (yet)

 

4. Young Voices Heard “Supporting Youth Voice in organisations – Youth Voice Charter” YVH 2020

This is our update of the 2006 Charter, and was produced with the input of young people, including #iwill ambassadors as part of our response to the 2020#iwill challenge to “listen to us, work with us and invest in us”. Many of these minimum standards are still not implemented, and some great youthled standards have been published since. Young Voices Heard 10 steps for organisations is our most popular download. “What we need is a kitemark that tells everyone when a organisation is complying with the minimum, and good practice, and excellence awards for the best” James Cathcart

 

5. Lundy’s Model of Child Participation   This model is popular in for the 2020’s, particularly for consultation and influence, and is linked to the Article 12 UN Convention for the Rights of the Child (under 18s)  “right to express their views on all matters affecting them, and to have their views considered and taken seriously” . Lundy adds “to be acted upon” However, there are others. Which, depends on your  ‘purpose of youthvoice and participation’ and who is initiating it. See 11. Participation Models and 5 YVH’s Ten Steps for Organisations’

 

6. Participation Charter 2006  (the original CYPN article can be found here)                                                   NOTE: not all docs may be visible on mobile devices

Published by Children Young People Now magazine on 6th June 2006*, in association with the Participation Works Consortium. Also see “Charter 2006 – Not Just Heard” where James Cathcart, former CEO of one of the Consortium founder members, reviews the charter in context and selects his ‘best bits’ from the charter that mirror what young leaders are calling for today. ‘The Children Now Participation Charter 2006 is an excellent reference point for anyone wanting to measure progress of the Youth Voice Movement since then, and inspiration to those considering a reboot of a unifying vision for the road head’ 

 

7. Young Voices Heard “Power of Youth Challenge – One Year On, Report and Recommendations” 2020

 

8. Children’s Participation from Tokenism to Citizenship, Roger Hart, UNICEF 1992 – the original report, which includes and explains Harts Ladder in context, such as its applicability to ‘young people’ as both pre-teenage children, and those up to and including 18, the UN Convention on Rights of the Child and references to schools, youth clubs and family in his final chapter – Where to Begin. “Many have put forward other models of participation to reflect the diversity of purpose and a more power-equal youth perspective on the youthvoice journey – to show that older folks and organisations need to be on an adult-listening journey” JC  See other examples below.

 

9. New and Innovative Forms of Youth Participation in Decision-Making, Crowley, Moxon, Council of Europe 2017

 

10. A Seat At the Table for Everyone SALTO/Erasmus 2019, promoting inclusive youth participation through the EU strategy 2017-2027, this paper aims to

 

 

11. Participation Models – Citizens, Youth, Online  Creative Commons 1992 – a walk through summary of 36 models of participation including youth participation. The cover alone is pause for thought! What not to do!

 

12. Decision Making: Children and Young People’s Decision-Making, Scottish Govt 2020  Guidance and Research References

https://www.gov.scot/publications/decision-making-children-and-young-peoples-participation/pages/guidance/

 

 

13. Real Decision-Making? School Councils in Action:  Geoff Whitty & Emma Wisby
Institute of Education, University of London

https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/6611/2/DCSF-RR001.pdf

 

14. Youth in Decision-making – A Study on the Impacts of Youth on Adults and Organizations, Univ of Wisconsin, 2000

 

15. Listen and Change – A Guide to Children and Young People’s Participation Rights, Participation Works 2003

 

16. Children’s Participation in Decision-making Ireland 

Click to access OCO_Participation-Guidelines_English_WEB.pdf

 

If there is anything you’d like to add to the Resource Bank  – please contact us and we’ll review it.