Bando e linea: CERV-2022-Child
durata: 2 anni (2023-25)
PI del progetto: prof.ssa Rita Bertozzi
Università, centri o altri partner coinvolti: University of Antwerp (Belgium), IIHL (Istituto Internazionale di Diritto Umanitario) (IT), Fondazione E35 (IT), Autonoom Gemeentebedrijf Stedelijk Onderwijs (Belgium)
Abstract del progetto:
The EU Strategy on the rights of the child (2021) has listed the facilitation of meaningful, safe and inclusive children’s participation rights in decision-making processes as one of its top priorities to be implemented or started by 2024. The strategy is based amongst others on a European mapping study (2021) on political and democratic life, which showed that only 4 out of 27 countries legally
require governments to include children or young people’s opinions in decision–making. The mapping study points to children’s councils as the most prevalent permanent structure involving children. It does not, however, provide details on how children’s participation is ingrained in less formal contexts such as educational and leisure environments. Moreover, children’s councils tend to
lack in diversity, and represent only part of the school’s population in terms of age, gender, special needs, cultural background and social class.
With the final aim to improve the level of inclusiveness, sustainability and policy impact of children councils, GOTALK will use both existing and innovative mechanisms and strategies to establish children’s and youth councils on a micro level in school and out-ofschool contexts through continuous capacity building and stakeholders’ engagement; two pilots in Antwerp (Belgium) and
Reggio Emilia (Italy) with children between 6 and 18 years old and their families, professionals working in schools, out-of-school care and leisure facilities, politicians, policy-makers, local and youth-oriented media partners and other relevant stakeholders; validation of the methods used; mainstreaming, to make the councils impactful and ensure their continuity, beyond the local experiences.