Policy Resources Citizenship and Participation

Children and young people’s right to participate in decisions that affect their lives is a fundamental human right. Their right to participate is protected by numerous human rights instruments including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and more recently the Sustainable Development Goals.

10-24 year olds now represent the largest generation in history - making up a quarter of the world’s population. 90 per cent of these young men and women live in low and middle-income countries. Ensuring their voices are heard is at the heart of our work and we believe that young people should have the right to participate in decision-making and to be empowered to hold decision makers to account.  

In order to achieve this, we work at the global, national and community level to ensure children and young people are engaged in decision making and supported to gain vital citizenship, leadership and wider life skills. Read more about our work in the reports below.