One of the ironies of the Lundy Model, like the UNCRC itself, is that an approach that advocates for children’s right to be heard did not involve children when it was created. While it was inspired by and based in part, on a study that included the views and experiences of over 1000 children, the conceptual framework for Article 12 of the UNCRC was written by one adult – me.  Of course, my focus at that time was on promoting better understanding among adult duty-bearers rather than children. So, it has been deeply gratifying that, over the years, so many children and young people have taken the model and made it their own which in turn – not surprisingly – has strengthened our understanding of child and youth participation. For me, that’s the Lundy Model squared.

Below I set out some examples. But first, I start with a speech that was given by Tash (then 17 and a member of Leicester City Council’s Care-Experienced Council) at the launch of Leicester’s ground-breaking participation strategy. When it was sent to me by Bez Martin, I had goosebumps when reading it since Tash captured what it is all about so succinctly and powerfully.