Empower children and youth, listen to them and take them seriously

Final considerations

Empower children and youth

In an international context, the Nordic region has made significant progress in the work to comply with the UN Conventions and follows an active and inclusive welfare policy. In spite of this, it is evident that children and young people with disabilities are not secured sufficient participation and influence in several areas.

Children and young people with disabilities do not have the same opportunities and conditions as their peers in kindergarten, school, in their spare time or in the transition to an independent adult life. The expert group behind this report has concentrated on highlighting how to work better in these areas specifically. They have also provided knowledge of several of the major challenges and obstacles faced by children and young people. In this report, we have highlighted research contributions that describe key challenges. This does not, however, provide a comprehensive picture of the challenges in the field.

Several of the areas identified by current research as key challenges in different and important areas of children’s lives require further investigation. First of all, a study is required to identify how we can work better and more purposefully both nationally and in the Nordic region.

Inclusion and participation are both a process and a goal in ensuring that all children are seen, heard and involved. This is a matter of meeting the individual’s prerequisites and needs in the best possible way. It also requires a society that at all times facilitates diversity and inclusion.

This precisely encapsulates one of the main challenges in the work on participation – to constantly remember that the objective is inclusion and participation for all. The goal is a Nordic region where all children and young people are seen and heard in all arenas and in all contexts.

The youth delegates have explained that they too often experience being questioned or ignored. They demand to be listened to more, to be respected, and to be empowered in their own lives.

“It’s important that young people are heard and taken seriously when they talk. That we are regarded as people with special knowledge and experience.”