ABSTRACT
The participation of children and young people has overwhelmingly been influenced by Article 12 of the UNCRC which sets out the right of children to have a say in matters that affect them. In keeping with prevailing models of representative democracy in many European countries, children’s voices have in turn been facilitated through structures such as councils, youth parliaments or consultations to ensure their views and experiences are represented in local decision-making processes. Yet, increasingly critics have raised questions about the extent to which participation of this kind is meaningful and effective in terms of outcomes and benefits for decisionmaking for services and ultimately in the lives of young people (Cockburn 2005; Percy-Smith 2010a; Tisdall 2008).
