The participation of children and young people: a lever for meeting the challenges and issues of tomorrow
Children and young people are often the first to be overlooked in citizen participation processes, even though they are full-fledged actors and citizens of society and represent a significant portion of the French population . Indeed, 17.3% of the French population is under 15 years old, and 34.8% of French people are under 30.
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Moreover, consultation brings to the forefront issues that are crucial for the future quality of life of citizens (ecological transition, mobility, urban planning, etc.). The absence of children and young people from participatory processes prevents them from taking ownership of these issues or expressing their views on public policies that directly concern them and will impact their future lives.
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The benefits of children's and young people's participation
Giving young people and children a voice is essential today to hear from the generations concerned about the society in which they will live, to involve them in the transition, to train tomorrow's leaders, to benefit from their fresh perspectives, and to stimulate innovation. Beyond the interest of those currently in positions of power in legitimizing their own visions of society and the future, Res publica's approach is based on free and open dialogue (without restrictions), young people for young people, by young people (directly with them, without too many intermediaries, and allowing them the opportunity to organize themselves).
In recent years, Res publica has organized and facilitated several consultations involving children and young people because we are convinced of the added value their voices bring, both to projects, to young people themselves, and to society !
The civic participation of children and young people: a real capacity to enrich public policies and projects
On the one hand, the civic participation of children and young people gives a voice to a segment of the population that is underrepresented in political bodies and that cannot express itself, or expresses itself less, through traditional elections. We believe it is essential to gather the input of these groups through alternative forms of participation. On the other hand, based on their lived experiences, children and young people offer a different perspective on public policies and projects. In this regard, the Artois Metropolitan Area submits the review of projects applying for the Euralens label to three committees: a partners' committee, an expert committee, and a committee composed of high school students. The opinions issued by the High School Student Committee reflect a greater environmental focus and a particular attention to social inequalities than the opinions issued by the Technical Committee and the Expert Committee. High school students also bring a user perspective that complements the perceptions of technicians and experts.
Young people may also have specific needs and expectations related to their age group. Their participation is all the more essential when the subject of the policy or project under discussion concerns or directly affects them. We saw this during the consultation process for the development of Génération Dijon, the City of Dijon's new educational project for children and young people from birth to age 25. The City of Dijon affirmed its commitment to involving those most directly affected in the development of this document. Children, teenagers, and students actively participated in the public workshops. Furthermore, workshops specifically designed and facilitated for them ensured they had a prominent role. One such workshop brought together more than 70 middle and high school students from 6th to 12th grade, representing 8 different schools. Their contributions have therefore informed the City's new educational project, just like those of professionals, parents and elected officials, and have helped to bring to light new themes such as the safety of young women in public spaces.
In the same spirit, the Île-de-France Region sought to involve key stakeholders in the development of its Regional Environmental Master Plan , a document outlining the Region's development up to 2040. As part of this initiative, the Res publica team visited around thirty high schools and vocational training centers to lead fun and educational workshops entitled "Objective 2040." The aim was to raise students' awareness, help them grasp concepts related to the ecological transition and land-use planning in the Île-de-France region, and encourage them to identify the major challenges facing their future in the Region, as well as their preferred priority actions.
Furthermore, the perspective and contributions of children and young people in the development of urban projects in their communities are disruptive. Studies highlight that cities are designed by and for adults. “The vast majority of children are condemned to play in confined spaces called ‘playgrounds,’ sometimes escaping into wastelands and other vacant lots,” writes Thierry Paquot (philosopher and retired professor from the Paris Institute of Urban Planning) in his book *The Recreational City *. Building more inclusive cities, with facilities adapted to everyone, requires considering children and young people as full stakeholders in urban projects. Hence Res Publica's commitment to creating and implementing programs specifically designed for young people during urban planning consultations.
As part of the consultation process initiated by the City of La Baule-Escoublac regarding the redevelopment project for the public spaces along the seafront , two workshops were organized with the Youth Council. These workshops allowed the children to meet with the project team and create murals illustrating their ideal seafront promenade. The initiative gave the children (grades 5-8) the opportunity to engage with and express their views on the project and the work of the landscape architects and architects. It became clear that, more than vegetation, play and accessibility were key considerations in their expectations.
Finally, the City of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin also involved young people aged 14 to 18 in consultations regarding the future of the historic city center, seeking the perspectives of young residents who experience public spaces differently. Recruited by youth centers on Wednesday afternoons, participants took part in a participatory walk through the city center, followed by a workshop on "atmospheres and uses." The young people appreciated the opportunity to share their opinions on the project, and the City services were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the ideas that emerged from the discussions. In response to proposals from participants regarding mobility issues faced by young people without driver's licenses, the project management team implemented a pilot program for a self-service bicycle system .
Learning about citizenship and personal enrichment
When young people participate, they gain a different understanding of their local area, discover the role of institutions and public policies, and develop their public speaking skills, debate abilities, and broader civic engagement. Their involvement in consultation processes provides them with practical training in democracy and its principles: equality, open-mindedness, respect for others, argumentation, and critical thinking. Furthermore, children and young people are often delighted to meet and interact with new people. This was evident at the Youth Forum we organized nationally, which brought together 200 young people aged 18 to 35 from all regions of metropolitan and overseas France. During a debriefing session at the end of the process, many participants shared their joy at having had the opportunity to acquire skills related to the challenges of the energy transition, to debate, and to build relationships with young people from all backgrounds.
Precautions to be taken when implementing mechanisms for the participation of children and young people
Experience suggests that particular attention must be paid to certain elements when undertaking consultations involving children and young people.
First, mobilizing children and young people proves far more complex than mobilizing adults , notably due to issues of availability, communication methods ill-suited to these audiences, the unfamiliar nature of these processes, and political distrust. In this respect, organizations that work with young people, such as schools, associations, and youth advisory bodies, can play a facilitating role in organizing these initiatives. However, there remains a risk of attracting particularly homogeneous profiles that do not reflect the diversity of the youth population: children and young people from privileged backgrounds and/or those involved in school, university, or public life (for example, class representatives, members of associations and student, high school, university, or political bodies).
Specific mobilization channels must be identified to engage these targeted audiences. As part of our work with the Artois Metropolitan Area , schools representing the various urban areas and educational tracks (in order to target students), as well as local employment centers and organizations that support young people who are neither in education nor employment, were mobilized.
Another approach involves using a random selection process. The goal is to create a panel of participants that reflects the diversity of young people based on a number of criteria. This system makes it possible to include young people who are distanced from traditional participation programs. The Youth Forum we organized brought together young people from all regions of metropolitan and overseas France for four days. Some of these participants were randomly selected based on several criteria (gender, age, socioeconomic status, education level, region of residence).
Programs can also be designed specifically for young people who are particularly disconnected from educational institutions. For example, as part of the call for projects "Identifying and Mobilizing Invisible Populations, and Priority to Young People Among Them," launched by the Ministry of Labor , Res publica facilitated a two-day committee of beneficiaries, bringing together around twenty young people from three regions, chosen for the similarity of their profiles to those targeted by the project applicants. The young participants interviewed 14 project leaders and debated compliance with the selection criteria using a pre-established framework, thus contributing to the selection of the project winners.
Secondly, the design and facilitation of participatory processes must respect certain prerequisites of traditional consultations, but with even greater attention to young people :
First, pedagogy and the popularization of knowledge should be prioritized. Emphasis should be placed, among other things, on using language accessible to everyone.
Secondly, the attention of children and young people must be captured by making them active participants. This implies using interactive, dynamic, and/or playful facilitation methods on the one hand, and avoiding overly dense content and top-down presentations, which facilitate a loss of focus among participants, on the other. It is also important to create a climate of trust and conditions conducive to everyone speaking. The participatory process should not replicate a school classroom, where the most articulate students and/or those with the most knowledge monopolize the conversation. The facilitator must therefore ensure an equitable distribution of speaking time and design formats that encourage everyone to express themselves. Finally, the development of educational tools or serious games that help children and young people grasp the topics and issues under discussion allows them to form their own opinions and produce valuable contributions to the project.
For all these reasons, the design and facilitation of these discussions by a trained third party specializing in participatory approaches for children and young people is particularly relevant.
Right: A national youth forum.
Finally, we observe that, like all segments of the public, children and young people have very high expectations regarding the consideration of their contributions (“ Will our contributions really be taken into account? ” a middle school student from Dijon asked an elected official). They also fear being used for political purposes. It is up to elected officials and those commissioning participatory processes to value and give credence to the investment and voices of children and young people, at the risk of seeing them turn away from civic and political life. A form of accountability would strengthen the relationship of trust between young people and civic life, for example, through the creation of formats that allow children and young people to follow, or even be involved in, the implementation of the projects to which they have contributed.
Over the past 30 years, the role of children and young people in society has changed considerably. Rising educational levels and the rise of social media, particularly the internet, have given them direct access to a significant amount of knowledge and information. This has also allowed them to speak out and engage in direct exchanges outside of formal structures (schools, universities, youth organizations, unions, etc.). Finally, the climate emergency and uncertainty about the future motivate them to get involved and speak out in new ways. The observation of disengagement in elections and the rise of movements for climate and social justice encourage us to also review the frameworks for public discourse in order to better integrate young people into future decisions. At Res publica, we are committed to giving children and young people a central place in our work by renewing our methods. Above all, we involve young people in the initiatives they propose and contribute to co-creating them with us. We don't just give people a voice; we listen to those who speak and are open to any new forms of debate that may surprise us. It is through this openness that we understand the reasons for young people's distrust of political decisions and, together with them, find the means to change the way politics is done. Finally, reaching out to young people also means fostering intergenerational dialogue, sharing experiences, and understanding the world we are leaving them. It means training and equipping them for the future to face highly complex challenges. Above all, it means betting on their ability to train us in their own skills!
