The “Lundy model” has been adopted by numerous national governments and public bodies as well as international organisations including the World Health Organisation, European Commission, Council of Europe, UNICEF, World Vision. Its key proponent has been the Irish Government, first in the National Strategy on Child and Youth Participation and from 2021 in its National Framework on Child and Youth Participation. Working through its national centre for excellence, Hub Na nOG, Laura worked with it to develop a series of tools based on the Lundy Model that are widely used in Ireland and have been translated, adapted and adopted globally.

A centralised database providing public bodies with the tools needed to operationalise children’s rights.

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.

Sound Connections has been experimenting with Youth Voice & Participation since 2008. We were inspired by research produced by the Participation Works consortium, partnership founded to further understanding and practice of youth voice, particularly across the voluntary youth sector. We were especially influenced by the milestone report, Building a Culture of Participation (Kirby et al., 2003) the findings of which we began to test and implement in our youth voice and leadership programme, Wired for Music.

Over the years, we’ve learnt about the profound impact a youth voice approach can have on practice, people, planning and policies. Quite simply, we are not the same organisation we were ten years ago. Today, young people are integral to how Sound Connections operates: they shape our programmes, produce their own events, advise us on funding decisions and sit on our board. They also play a key role in our work advocating for youth voice practice across the creative and cultural sector, especially the consultancy we provide to other organisations looking to learn more about youth voice and embed it in their programmes and strategies. It has been an eye-opening and transformational journey, and one that we want to share as widely as possible.

And that’s why we’ve created this handbook. As far as we know, to date, no-one has attempted to produce a guide to youth voice for the creative and cultural sector. This handbook is for you if you or your organisation work creatively with young people. You might work in arts, culture or heritage, in a youth work or educational setting, or in another sector where creative engagement is enhancing the lives of young people. We are delighted to launch the Youth Voice & Participation Handbook and we hope that you will find it informative, intriguing and inspiring.

1.2 Aims of the Book
This book has two main aims. First, it seeks to engage in critical examination of the concept of child participation from multiple perspectives—those of children, professionals, and society—to illuminate how participation can be meaningfully realized. Drawing on legal, social, and economic frameworks, the book discusses both the benefits of children’s participation and the barriers that hinder its full realization. It also delves into the relationship between children’s rights and their practical implementation, exploring the gap between the law in books and the law in action (Pound, 1959).
Second, the book aims to provide an interdisciplinary discussion on child participation, drawing on empirical examples from the Nordic countries. While the Nordic region has strong welfare states and a tradition of progressive child rights policies, challenges remain in translating legal commitments into practice. By shedding light on these challenges, the book contributes to a broader understanding of how societies can better ensure that children’s voices are heard and valued.

Our standards are created by children and young people based on our direct experiences and insights to promote children’s participation rights. Our standards also build upon existing models and standards such as the Lundy Model (Space, Voice, Audience, Influence) and the nine basic requirements from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. We call on organisations working with children and young people and people organising global events to apply these standards – before, during, and after the global event – to ensure children and young people are seriously listened to. You can use the standards as a guide to inclusively and meaningfully engage children to shape a better world. The standards provide concrete actions to involve children and young people in ways they feel comfortable and provide opportunities for them to share their views and ideas in global events.

This paper outlines MYAN’s Youth Engagement Strategy, which provides a framework for working alongside young people and support them to actively participate in civic life, influence policy, and strengthen their leadership. It sets out MYAN’s approach to meaningful participation, guided by the voices of young people, and highlights the structures, goals, and commitments that underpin this work.

Eurochild is the largest network of organisations working with and for children throughout Europe, striving for a society that respects, protects and promotes the rights of all children. We represent over 225 organisations and individuals from across 41 European countries, reaching approximately 5,000 organisations and individuals on the ground. Our mission is to promote the rights and well-being of children in policy and practice, through advocacy, membership exchange, and research. We aim to bring about tangible positive changes in the lives of children, particularly those affected by poverty and disadvantage.

The best interests of the child are paramount and healthcare services must be child-centred and respect the rights of children and young people.

The Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, has requested the Family Law Council provide advice aiming to improve support for children and young people in accessing appropriate support services and participating in the family law system. The report outlines the history and current understandings of the application in laws, policy and practice of children’s rights, including Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.