The Museum of Childhood were lucky enough to be invited to the Seminar on the Participation of Children and Young People in Decision-Making in Ireland. The seminar was held in the office building that holds the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE), formerly the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. This event provided a great opportunity to see how children’s participation rights are being respected and implemented within the Republic of Ireland.
Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) states
“States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.”
This right means that Government of Ireland has a responsibility to ensure that the voices of children and young people are heard and respected on the matters that affect them.
Structure of Participation Supports in Ireland
The morning began with Bairbre Meaney, the Principal Officer of the DCDE detailing the structure of the department as outlined as per the graphic below:
The DCDE oversees the National Participation Office (NPO) which was established in 2021. One of their main roles is to direct the activities of Comhairle na nÓg, Dáil na nÓg, Seanad na nÓg and the National Youth Assembly of Ireland. The DCDE and NPO are supported by the national centre of excellence Hub na nÓg who act as a resource to support organisations in facilitating children and young people’s participation. The work of these bodies is informed by national policy documents particularly the National Framework for Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-making. This framework provides guidance to the government and other stakeholders on how to improve their skills in listening to children and young people and ensuring that they have a voice in decision making. The model used to underpin the framework is the Lundy Model (2007) developed by Professor Laura Lundy.
The Lundy Model is made up of four sectors that all must be fully realised to achieve total rights-respecting participation. The first segment relates to space (both physical and psychological) where the young person is afforded a safe and inclusive environment to express their views. Within this space, the young person’s voice must be facilitated so that they may for and provide their views. This voice must then be received by a receptive audience who listens to the views and takes them seriously. Equally important to the previous segments is influence, this means that the views must be acted upon when possible and if it is not possible, the reasons why must be communicated back to the young person.
Hearing from the Young People Involved
The next part of the morning involved a “Human Library” session. This was an innovative opportunity for the attendees to learn more about the work of Comhairle na nÓg from the young people themselves. Participants were split into smaller groups and led around to various young people where we could ask direct questions to the members of Comhairle na nÓg. This allowed for a deeper understanding of the impact and importance of respecting children and young people’s Article 12 right. One of the main takeaways from the day came from one of the young people who pointed out that youth is not only the future but also they are their own present.
An impact of listening to young people and giving them real influence in decision making can be seen through the introduction of the Youth Travel Card in 2019 in which the organisation successfully achieved a 50% discount on public transport for young people (up to the age of 23) in aid of more sustainable transport solution. This year, the council is focusing on measures to combat school stress, so it will be exciting to see where this leads!
Hub na nÓg
After a much-needed lunch, the afternoon was led by Hub na nÓg. Attendees were informed on the work that the Hub undertakes. One of their main roles is to provide trainings to groups engaging with young people, be they youth work, governmental, or creative. Trainings can take different forms including one to one session or wider guidance. The Hub na nÓg website hosts a library which features a collection of resources, including policy, legal documents and academic publications, on children and young people’s participation. An online module on facilitating young people’s participation is currently in the works which the museum is looking forward to seeing.
One of the highlights of the day was the Hub’s “Museum of Methodologies” which showcased different methods of how to capture young people’s views. Some of which can be seen in the image below. Examples of reports where the methods were used can be found here.
How the Museum of Childhood facilitates Participatory Rights?
A key ethos of the Museum is to ensure that we are completely rights-respecting. One of the key ways we try to honour children and young people’s participatory rights is through our children’s advisory team begun in 2018 by our museums founder Majella McAllister.
The team was originally the Child & Youth Voices Team before becoming the advisory team now led by Dr. Harry Shier and Dr. Hadjer Taibi in 2023.
The team is made up of children, aged 10 to 17 who meet regularly and advise the Board of Directors on all aspects of the running of the museum. The young people apart of our museum have contributed significantly and even organised a wonderful event in 2021 for International Adolescent Health Week. Part of this event was to provide free and accessible Q+A’s with leading health experts on topics such as mental health, gynaecology, and gender-affirming care. To learn more about the team and how to get involved, our website details it here.
Thanks to the Department of Childhood, Disability, and Equality, Hub na nÓg, and the younge people of Comhairle na nÓg for having us and for organising such an informative event!