The 'Good Society' and the 'Good Citizen' Children's Right to Participate

This article discusses how the children's participation rights and competence has maintained unchanged and unchallenged over the years. However children are still not considered apt to be included as an opinion giver in the polity. Although there are international projects which give voice to children, society is not ready to allow children to participate in decision making process. Participation rights have been established by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Article 12 under 'the right to freely express one's opinion', on the condition that the child is capable of taking it, and in matters that affect them. The article shows that children's opinions should be given due weight depending on their age and maturity. Children are unique and gifted and it is the adults' duty or task to bring out the spark within them. Children's participation rights have not been the result of children's own mobilization and dispute over their social condition of subordination and oppression, but there are granted by their representatives (parents, school, government), who could speak in their 'best interests'. Children's participation rights did not enhance a clearer understanding, from the point of view of children themselves, about the directions in which relationships of subordination and oppression between children and adults that involved them should be changed. (C) 2016 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org.uk