The ‘Added Value’ of the Youth Contribution and the Call of Young People for Intergenerational Partnerships: Reflections From the 2021 World Congress for Justice With Children ¹

Abstract

The aspirations at the 2021 World Congress for Justice WITH Children [WC] were lofty: ‘nothing about children without children’. Then a dose of reality kicked in. Children's live participation at the WC was almost as rare as sightings of white tigers in the wild. While several youths aged 18–25 had live speaking roles at the WC, their placement at the small table meant few would hear them.

In this Chapter, four Child and Youth Advisory Board [CYAB] members discuss why it matters that children and youth receive a seat at the big table. Children and youth offer the ‘lived experiences’ of young persons, which adults cannot possibly duplicate. Given the post-hegemonic character of youth organisations, the youth themselves are the ones best suited to use these experiences to analyse the child justice system and to develop policy goals germane to the best interests of the current generation of youth. To facilitate the youth contribution from the ground floor up, the CYAB members call upon adults to serve as intergenerational partners who resist the temptation to discipline the form and content of the youth's ideas. Along these lines, this Chapter itself is designed to let the youth voices resonate.

Citation

Burkard, W., Dan, A.-M., Benard, M.C., Pujols, I. and Darouichi, A. (2023), "The ‘Added Value’ of the Youth Contribution and the Call of Young People for Intergenerational Partnerships: Reflections From the 2021 World Congress for Justice With Children ¹ ", Frankel, S. (Ed.) Establishing Child Centred Practice in a Changing World, Part B (Emerald Studies in Child Centred Practice), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 197-204. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-940-620231013