The Inclusive Child Participation Networks bring together 18 partners – including SOS Children’s Villages in Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, and Italy – committed to embedding meaningful participation at all levels of decision-making.
“Grown-ups should hear, understand, listen, and implement policies for children and with children,” said 14-year-old Markas from Lithuania, speaking during the event in Brussels.
“We need a new mindset – children should express their opinions and adults should listen.”
“There is growing ambition in Europe around meaningful child participation. The EU Children’s Participation Platform – which we are proud to help implement – is a major step toward embedding participation at the EU level. With this new project we aim to build on that ambition” said Lidia Giglio, EU Representative of SOS Children’s Villages International as she opened the Fair with Maria Luz Larosa, Head of Office of Save the Children Europe. “When children are involved, we achieve better, more relevant, and more sustainable solutions to today’s societal challenges,” she said.
Children lead the conversation on their rights
Throughout the Fair, children and young people took centre stage, engaging directly with participation specialists, EU representatives, civil society organizations and local actors from across Europe. Their reflections highlighted both the urgency and the potential of strengthening the right of every child to express their views freely, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child.
They also spoke about how often children’s perspectives are overlooked. “If you don’t have rights, what do you live for? Our participation is important because we have to feel good – if you don’t like something, you have to say it,” said 13-year-old Martina from Bulgaria.
“I think no one listens to us because we are children – I mean, what do we know? But I know. Maybe sometimes better than the adults.”
Children emphasized that being able to speak up is essential for their development. “When children can’t express their thoughts, they won’t be able to grow up into adults who think critically,” said 17-year-old Semina from Albania.
“It should start from schools, from their own families and friend groups – every kid should be able to express their own opinions.”
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Ensuring participation is systemic and meaningful
The Inclusive Child Participation Networks aim to mainstream child participation in policymaking; empower children most at risk of exclusion; and increase the capacity of national, regional and local authorities to ensure participation is inclusive and systemic. The Network is a core component of the wider Inclusive Child Participation project, which brings together partners across Europe to embed participation structurally and sustainably.
The project, led by Save the Children Italy, is implemented by 18 partners: five Europe-wide organisations (Save the Children Europe, SOS Children’s Villages International, Plan International Belgium, the European Roma Grassroots Organisations Network and IGLYO), nine national Save the Children organisations (Italy, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, Albania, Poland, Romania and Denmark) and four national SOS Children’s Villages organisations (Italy, Finland, Greece and Bulgaria).
By linking local and national realities with EU-level mechanisms, such as the EU Children’s Participation Platform, the Network will help translate children’s experiences directly into policy discussions.
A call for adults to listen — and act
Young people at the Fair highlighted that children bring perspectives adults often overlook.
“I think children have a very special world view and they see the world around and its problem the way adults maybe can’t,” said 15-year-old Lehner from Hungary.
“If most decisions about children were taken not just by adults, maybe everything would be a little bit better.”
Lehner also spoke about the importance—and rarity—of being heard. “To be heard is just an amazing feeling. But even though I am listened to and can be part in important child participation projects, I know that most of the children don’t have this opportunity, and many of them are not even cared about. It’s just so sad, not just in the context of participation, but all aspects of life, if you’re not listened to and people don’t care about you.”
He added: “Today’s world is not made for listening to children. Unfortunately, in most countries the governments don’t listen to children while making decisions about them. This is why I and many other people around the world are passionate about child participation and fighting for it.”
The message from Brussels was clear: children must be recognised as essential partners in shaping the policies that affect them. With the launch of the European Network on Inclusive Child Participation, we are taking an important step toward making meaningful participation a standard part of every decision-making process touching children’s rights and lives.