Participatory Democracy for all schools in Cardiff as part of the Unicef Child Friendly City initiative

Cardiff bid to become Wales' first 'child friendly city'Cardiff is the first city in Wales to take part in Unicef UK’s national Child Rights Partners programme. Between now and 2020, the local authority, including all of its delivery partners, are working in partnership with Unicef towards being recognized by Unicef UK as a Child Friendly City. In this blog Sue Lyle of Dialogue Exchange and Peter Anderson of VocalEyes talk about their work with Cardiff LA in their bid to become a Child Friendly City. At the core of a Child Friendly City (CfC) is the idea that children are a valuable part of the community and like adults, they should be respected as citizens and active members of society. The key word is participation and respect for the experiences and views of Children and Young People. Respect for the views of CYP will come from adults’ genuine desire to listen to them. It is therefore important to provide opportunities for them to express their views and know that their ideas will inform the planning of services and decision-making. Currently opportunities to influence matters come through different representative groups. All schools for example, have a school council consisting of elected members of the school community. Representative hearing is necessary, but not sufficient on its own. The challenge in becoming a CfC is to provide opportunities for every child in Cardiff to participate. We are therefore delighted that Cardiff local authority has decided to introduce participatory democracy through VocalEyes to all schools. This means every child will have genuine access to decision-makers and a chance to influence the development of Cardiff as a CfC.