Youth participation in local governance

This essay examines several participatory experiences involving children and young people in Spain, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, and Argentina.

The authors identify two major goals prompting local authorities to incorporate the voice of young people in local government: participatory democracy, and the rights of children, as specified in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Based on the cases presented, the authors provide reflections on how to involve children and adolescents in local politics and promote more open, transparent and democratic government.

Source: CoGlobal
Author information and contact: Patricia García-Leiva, Andrés Falck

Year of publication: 2018