The Norwegian Children and Youth Council

Principles on real and meaningful participation

Youth participation is critical to secure inclusive political processes. LNU has five key principles to secure that this participation is real and meaningful: 

1. Independence. Youths must be able to choose what they want to engage in. They have the right to be heard in all decision-making processes that they are concerned with, and in all processes that they themselves deem they have a stake in. If youths are interested, they should be heard. 
2. Representation. Youths must choose their own representatives. These representatives are responsible to the youth they represent, as in the democratic child- and youth organisations. Political processes can’t cherrypick a youth «alibi» or someone the adults believe represent youths. This is not democraticly founded.
3. Unique competences. Youths needs to be recognized as a professional resource with the necessary expertise that is unique to them and that others cannot replace. They are the only ones who can represent themselves and their views, adults cannot.
4. Access to information. All institutions and processes where youths participate, these youths need access to all relevant information so that they can be prepared for the issues that involves them. They need the same level of access to information as the other stakeholders and participants in the decision-making processes.
5. Continuity in processess. Youths needs to be able to participate in all chains in the political processes. Single events and processes that are not democratically founded does not facilitate full participation. That means that youths cannot be invited to give some initial input before the actual process starts and not be there for the actual political work and debates, or only be involved when the process is finished to put a stamp of approval on it or final remarks.