Introduction

If children are to be active participants in their communities, and in the improvement of communities, they need to have available to them mechanisms and methods for accessing and influencing decision-making structures. The problem is that currently most mechanisms and methods are adult exclusive. As we enter the 21st century adult exclusivity is becoming increasingly challenged, both by organisations and agencies working with and on behalf of children and young people and by children and young people themselves.

In the 20th century a number of ‘battles’ against exclusivity were fought in Britain, notably the universal suffrage movement and the battles for equal rights for ethnic minorities, women, homosexuals, elderly people, for disabled people and those with special needs. Legislation has been mobilised to ensure that in law equal rights and equal opportunities for participation exist, even if in practice such participation, even for adults, is not well-established. There is, however, one notable group to whom equality of representation is denied, children, described by the Association for the Protection of All Children as “13 million citizens with no voice in government”.

The direct representation of children in government, except through the appointment of adult representatives such as a children's minister, is unlikely to be realised in the near future, but at local level progress towards direct children's representation in local decision-making structures is being achieved. This chapter examines children's participation within the context of creating a social and political environment conducive to participation, and identifies the factors that both contribute to successful participation and some of the barriers that have to be overcome in its pursuit.