Become a member of the EU Children’s Participation Plattform and strengthen the participation of children!

• 03/27/2025
• Report

Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasises that children must be heard and taken seriously in all matters that affect them. Particularly at the European level, which often seems far removed from children and young people's opportunities to shape their own lives, it is all the more important to create structures in which their voices are heard on important issues and included in decision-making processes on European laws and policies.

One example of this is the EU Children's Participation Platfrom launched by the Commission in 2022. This platform is aimed at all European children and young people under the age of 18 who are involved in an organisation that is a member of the EU Platform for the Participation of Children. In the work plan on the Platform's themes for 2025-2026, there is a special focus on online safety, in particular on how to ensure child protection and children's rights in the digital space. This also shows that children and young people are particularly interested in strengthening and enabling their participation in the digital space.

How can I become a member of the EU Platform for the Participation of Children? Membership is open to all organisations, initiatives and programmes that have developed mechanisms for the participation of children and young people and have established tools such as children's parliaments, children's representatives, participatory projects, mentoring programmes and digital platforms to promote participation within their structures. Further criteria for membership can be found here. In addition to creating spaces for young people's participation, membership offers other benefits such as advocacy at EU level, visibility, exchange of knowledge and ideas and networking opportunities. An overview of the other member organizations in Europe can be found here.

If you do not meet the criteria but are interested in child participation and would like to get involved and informed in other ways, you can also sign up for the quarterlynewsletter.