Professionals supporting children’s participation, youth advocacy or children’s rights work will find this toolbox especially relevant when planning events, consultations or projects where kids, teenagers and adults need to work together. It brings together a rights-based approach and a well-being focus, with attention to how children take part, how adults share power, and how intergenerational partnership can be made more thoughtful and practical.
Planning meaningful child participation with children, teenagers and adults can become complicated when roles, preparation and relationships are not clear. We Are Here Toolbox helps organisations think through those practical questions, especially where young advocates are invited to speak, represent others, facilitate conversations or contribute to decision-making spaces.
The PDF is organised as a child participation toolbox with sections on participation, the foundations of partnership, personal qualities, taking part as a participant, acting as a representative, facilitating others and reflecting on learning. The contents show a strong focus on preparation, role clarity and creating the right conditions for children and adults to collaborate.
Its approach combines children’s rights, particularly the right to be heard, with holistic well-being and process-focused practice. The ACT2gether strand is central, encouraging adults and children to see each other as competent partners and to work across settings such as education, health, welfare, justice, advocacy and community action.
Practitioners could use it when designing youth participation workshops, preparing a children’s council, supporting young representatives before a conference, or training adults who will accompany children in participation activities. It is most suited to child-focused organisations, participation leads, youth workers, advocates and facilitators working with children and young people across Europe or in similar rights-based settings.
The toolbox was created by Eurochild and the Learning for Well-being Foundation, with named authors including Luís Manuel Pinto, Darren Bird, Alice Hagger-Vaughan, Linda O’Toole, Tinna Ros-Steinsdottir and Mieke Schuurman.
