It is important to be reminded of the ‘voluntary association’ principle in youth work (UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2009) and that as soon as young people are mandated or obliged to participate, this undermines the point of participation as well as a key principle of youth work.

consultation is not participation

Outcome-led funding criteria for youth services are one example where context can shape the form that participation may take.

codes such as the Commonwealth Code of Ethical Practice (Corney 2014a) are designed to assist youth workers in the making of difficult decisions when working with young people.

as critical dialogue is central to youth work practice, so youth workers must be open to dialogue with young people who hold different views. Working with diverse voices and elevating those voices that are often silent are important and crucial to good participation.

As Lansdown (2010:12) has said: If advocacy to promote [young people’s and] children’s right to participation is to be effective, it is imperative that it is grounded in a clear understanding of the scope of the relevant rights in the [UN] Convention and the obligations they impose.

In most countries young people under the age of majority are ‘disenfranchised’, that is to say, they have limited opportunities to engage with the political process and governance structures of their country, state or province by virtue of their age and thus are often excluded from political and civic decision-making (Corney 2004, 2014a, 2014b;... See more

This emancipatory, educational concept of youth work draws directly on the critical pedagogy of Freire (1972) and his use of dialogue. These ideas are consistent with the concept of critical dialogue (Freire 1972). This entails the proposing of provocative questions and reflecting on them critically, enabling the responses to challenge and inform... See more

the right to participate is not just for young people, but for all people, and is anchored to the conviction that participation is a good thing. Youth workers want to involve young people in decision-making processes to support their right to participate (or not) and to promote young people’s personal development, enhance civic and community... See more