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Investing in children: learning how to promote the rights of all children
Author(s) -
Cairns Liam
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
children and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1099-0860
pISSN - 0951-0605
DOI - 10.1002/chi.665
Subject(s) - convention on the rights of the child , politics , rhetoric , convention , political rhetoric , child rights , sociology , political science , human rights , economic growth , public relations , public administration , law , economics , linguistics , philosophy
Investing in Children is a County Durham initiative, which seeks to create opportunities for children and young people to become genuine participants in decision‐making processes. This paper provides an inside account of how the initiative was developed. It describes how a model of practice has evolved through which young people have been able to achieve a measure of genuine participation, leading to real change in policy. The paper explores some of the issues which have frustrated the translation of the rhetoric of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into a reality recognised by young people in the United Kingdom. It is proposed that an approach based upon the universal rights of all children, pursuing an agenda identified by children and young people themselves, has more potential for political change than separate debates about the plight of particular groups of young people. The paper also suggests that participation (or more often consultation) is not an end in itself, but a means by which young people can achieve political change. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.