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Child and Youth Participation

Child and Youth Participation

Child and Youth Participation

© UNICEFMongolia/2004/Chanrav
Child and adolescent participants in the National Summit on Children with the former Prime Minister Mr. N. Enkhbayar and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Mr. Kul C.Gautam

Participation is an integral human rights issue. It is both a means to an end and an end in itself. If this right, and the natural urge to participate, are not respected, if no supportive environment is created to use an adolescents’ capacities and talents meaningfully, the child or adolescent may become isolated and alienated, and her potential may be exploited, abused or misdirected into subcultures which fragment society and lead to risk taking behaviour.

In 1999, Mongolia became one of the countries implementing the UNF funded ‘Meeting the Participation and Development Rights of Adolescents Girls’. UNICEF, on behalf of the UN Country Team, coordinated the conducting of a comprehensive adolescent’s needs assessment survey, inviting 2,500 adolescents to articulate their needs, challenges, hopes and dreams in the areas of education, health, participation, information, values and opinions and the legal environment.

Guided by the findings of the Mongolian Adolescents Needs Assessment Survey Report, UNESCO, WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF, in collaboration with the Government of Mongolia, a local NGO, and adolescent representatives, designed a three year pilot project as a catalyst to encourage the adoption of model strategies. ‘Improving the Outlook of Mongolian Adolescent Girls and Boys’, funded by the United Nations Foundation (UNF), included a variety of inter-connected and mutually supportive programmes, designed to meet adolescents’ stated needs in the areas of health, education, participation and communication. Unique features included the principles of inter-agency and inter-sectoral cooperation, integrated initiatives, and creating opportunities for genuine adolescent participation at every stage in the project cycle.

Within the project, UNICEF concentrated on participation itself and cooperated with two local NGOs - the Scouts Association of Mongolia and the Mongolian Youth Development Centre, with particular focus on adolescent participation.

Along with the Adolescents Project, UNICEF had supported the government of Mongolia to develop the Strategic Plan of the National Authority for Children in cooperation with Save the Children Fund (UK) and World Vision International through the process of child participation throughout the country, starting from the grass root to the highest decision making level. In September 2004, the Government of Mongolia approved the strategic plan of the National Authority for Children. One of the objectives of the plan describes the role of the National Authority for supporting child participation: ‘Promote, nurture and support children’s organisations (by, for and of children) by enabling all children, especially the marginalized and vulnerable to have access to an organisation of their choice and enable children’s participation in all decision-making bodies/platforms by creating/redesigning mainstream structures and processes and supporting children’s agency’.

In May 2004 a four day National Forum and Summit on Children was held, which was initiated by the Government. With more than 100 children and adolescents from all over the country participating, the forum and summit adopted recommendations for follow up in the next stage of implementation of the National Programme of Action for Children (2002-2010). The forum and summit became a unique venue where the leaders of Mongolia listened to the views of children and adolescents and engaged in a serious inter-generational dialogue. According to Under UN Secretary General and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Mr. Kul Gautam, the summit was an example for how Mongolia was truly practising democracy by giving the children an opportunity to take part in the deliberations and allowing young people to express their voices. Mongolia is a new democracy, and democracy means respect for human rights, including full respect for the human rights of children.

UNICEF is presently supporting the Government of Mongolia in developing a comprehensive national policy on child and adolescent participation. This will help ensure institutionalize child and adolescent participation.

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National Consultative Meeting on the National Policy on Child and Youth Participation

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