Response to: Moving beyond voice in children and young people’s participation

Abstract

This short essay is a response to the article, “Moving beyond voice in children and young people’s participation” for the Action Research Journal’s Special Issue on Development, Aid and Social Transformation. The referenced article presents research from revisits, 10 years after research ended, to participatory action research processes in Nepal and the UK in which children and young people’s voices were surfaced. The revisits sought to understand how children and youth input was valued and acted upon. In this essay, the author responds to findings from the revisits and their relevance for development practitioners who aim to contribute to transformational change. Drawing on an example from India, the essay highlights the value of inter-generational dialogue, and children and young people owned knowledge surfaced through participatory action research to support processes of transformational and emancipatory social change. It draws attention to challenges faced in the use of this knowledge by decision makers.