Places and spaces for children’s participation

This chapter looks at the context of participation in terms of places and spaces: the broad environment and the particular setting. Spaces and communication channels set up in research and evaluation were identified in the revisits as vital to how children's participation could be implemented effectively; bringing along the different stakeholders or leaving them behind. Understanding places and spaces and how different aspects of context facilitates or blocks children's and young people's participation needs to be paid more attention. Mapping the political and policy context with regard to children's rights and children's participation at country level is one aspect, including the role of government and civil society, how national policy translates to local policy and how it is understood and applied by different stakeholders. The context of places and spaces clearly also depends on the people involved in different roles in government at different levels, communities, families, work, school, the private business sector and in civil society.