Hej Åsikter! : An Ecosystem of Child and Youth Participation.

Abstract: One of the major contributions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC) to the context of children’s rights was the introduction of participation.In addition to the right to provision and protection, participation gives children theright to express their opinions in all matters affecting them. Furthermore, theyhave to be provided the opportunity to be heard. As part of their continuedcommitment towards children’s rights, Sweden has now decided to incorporatethe UNCRC to its legislation. Based on this context and drawing from literatureabout children's rights and participation, and a study case of youth participationand culture, the project seeks to create a model that promotes and improvechildren’s and young people’s participation an influence. Thus, the project aimsto contribute to the applied research field and inform on practical approaches tochildren’s participation and influence. As a result, the project proposes HejÅsikter! An ecosystem for children’s and young people’s participation, wheredifferent stakeholders benefits from collaborative and coordinated work andultimately achieve children’s acknowledgement and empowerment.