Having their say - David Crimmens

This book looks at how various European countries have gone beyond incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into their legislation to: foster participation by children and young people in political processes; and involve them in making decisions about how to improve services provided for them. Each chapter addresses common themes. So, taken as a whole, the book builds a picture of how the voice of the child is becoming more influential, not just in the search for more effective services, but also reflecting a fundamental change in the status of children and young people in their relationships with wider adult society.;But read individually each chapter provides a snapshot of particular and diverse developments, including: how young people are participating in the design and delivery of the new Connexions service in England and Wales; the experience of young people meeting with MEPs to discuss "An Agenda for Young People"; the struggle to establish the rights of children in state care in Scotland; a major consultation exercise in Northern Ireland; political disenchantment and the development of "Learning Democracy" in German local government; young people researching young people's involvement in formal politics in Amsterdam and Rotterdam; how young people are changing the nature of their own educational experiences in Norway; the children's parliament in Slovenia; how approaches to the development of children's rights vary from city to city in Spain; and the struggle between participation and traditional emphasis on the primacy of the family in Italian social policy.