Participation of children and young people in local politics

As a guideline for children's policy, Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children and young people have the right to have their views included in all decisions that affect them. The Child and Youth Welfare Act (SGB VIII) also pursues the goal of providing sustainable support for children and young people on their way to becoming independent and socially competent personalities. In particular, young people and their families are to be involved in an appropriate manner in planning that affects them. Accordingly, the objective of extracurricular youth education is to enable young people to recognise their own personal and social living conditions, to assert their social interests and to realise democratisation in all areas.

The state of Hesse has explicitly laid down the participation rights of children and young people in the Hessian Municipal Code (§§ 4c, 8c HGO) and the Hessian County Code (§§ 4c, 8a HKO). The form of participation is largely left to the municipalities' discretion - in contrast to the second group of non-eligible residents, foreigners outside the EU (cf. §§ 84 ff. HGO). The law permits institutionalising forms of participation such as children's and youth parliaments or advisory councils as well as opportunities to be heard, to make proposals and to speak in the municipal council, but also project-related models of participation such as the design of a playground, district explorations, children's cultural projects, workshops on the future, etc.).

Participation of children and young people in their communities makes sense because children and young people learn to see and understand the effects of their involvement and to identify with it. Furthermore, children and young people should be taken seriously as experts in their own field and should be able to give valuable suggestions to politicians.

Cities and municipalities play an important role in the selection of appropriate forms of participation, as they are the immediate living environment of children and young people.

Child- and youth-friendly communities are liveable for all