Children have a right to participate even in lockdown.
With the UK in and out of lockdown, life has changed dramatically for the country’s children and young people in 2020.
But their legal rights, as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, remain the same. As does local government’s responsibility to uphold those rights.
Children’s right to express their views and be taken seriously on all matters that affect them – their ‘right to be heard’ – does not disappear when children are no longer in school, attending youth groups or accessing services.
In fact, as children have been cut off from education and, in some cases, left without the protection of public services, it has become even more important for their voices to be heard.
Throughout this turbulent year, restrictions and social distancing have thrown up huge challenges for local authorities, which have had to radically rethink the way they reach the children in their communities.
We’ve been incredibly impressed by how the councils we work with through the Unicef Child Friendly Cities & Communities programme have rapidly put new structures in place to understand and respond to the needs of children and young people during the pandemic.
In the London Borough of Redbridge, a COVID-19 survey developed and distributed by young people in early 2020 showed that many of their peers had started to feel down for the first time. The council is now developing a new map of local services that could help improve wellbeing – from sports and arts to mental health support.
In Liverpool, with support from Unicef UK on using technology safely, the council has held regular online Q&A sessions for children and young people. This has enabled them to share their experiences of lockdown and concerns directly with elected members and directors.
The council has used these sessions as an opportunity to reach and hear from even more children in the city – particularly the most vulnerable, who may have traditionally faced barriers in accessing face-to-face sessions.
Derry City and Strabane District Council have prioritised youth participation through the YOUth Making it Happen Participatory Budgeting Project. An online voting process will empower young people to influence the budgetary spend and successful bids will be supported to turn their ideas into reality.
In Cardiff, recognising that not every child in the city had access to the internet, the council handed out more than 2,000 laptops and tablets and more than 1,000 broadband dongles – prioritising looked-after children – to remove barriers to digital participation. It is now investigating gaming as a new avenue for digital engagement.
With remote participation likely to be the norm for the foreseeable future, and ‘Zoom fatigue’ kicking in, councils will need to continue to think of innovative ways to reach young people.
Top tips for digital engagement
- Understand the ‘digital divide’ in your community – many children share digital devices or have limited data access.
- Carry out a risk assessment, just as you would for a face-to-face session, but keep in mind new risks, such as privacy and how to manage data.
- Create a safe and welcoming digital space by collectively agreeing a shared-space agreement at the beginning of the session, and using chat functions to regularly check in with participants.
- Don’t blur the boundaries between your personal and professional presence – do not accept friend requests from children you have engaged with in a professional setting.
