Participation in Decision-Making

Abstract

The case for securing a more firmly established commitment to greater participation for young people is explored in this chapter, which further examines progress made over the past decade, and identifies some of the key challenges that lie ahead. The focus is primarily, though not exclusively, on 15- to 18-year-olds, partly because it is this younger group among youth that is more seriously disenfranchised and denied a voice, and partly because the earlier young people are provided with opportunities to participate, the greater the benefit is to both themselves and the wider society. Respecting the right of this younger group to be heard represents an enormous challenge to traditional attitudes in most societies.