In April 2026, after 15 months of work, the Children's and Young People's Standards for their Meaningful Participation in Global Events were launched.
The standards were created by a dedicated task group of children and young people as guidance and good practice for adult organisers and facilitators of global events involving children.
Created under the banner of 'Include Us!' the standards are grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, with a focus on on Article 12 which says: Children have the right to give their opinions freely on issues that affect them. Adults should listen and take children seriously.
The task group built the standards by drawing on existing models and work already done on child participation, like the Lundy Model and the Nine Basic Requirements for Meaningful and Ethical Children’s Participation.
Our common ground, where all voices are heard, is built on shared standards. Amanda (Indonesia) |
Key recommendations
- Address barriers to implementing the standards
- Active inclusion of children as meaningful participants in decisions affecting their lives
- Comprehensive preparation, such as sharing information, accessibility and inclusion
- Safe and respectful spaces with things like peer exchanges, rest and fun
- Follow-up and impact, including feedback, evaluation and continued engagement with children
- Include children from diverse backgrounds, such as children with disabilities or indigenous children
- Avoid tokenism through genuine and meaningful participation, with real influence and leadership for children
- Increase the knowledge of adult organisers and facilitators
- Monitor and evaluate the quality and impact of child participation
- Adapt the standards to different cultural and regional contexts
Call to Action
The Call to Action comes from children, young people and adult speakers during the launch event.
- Read, reflect and apply the standards
- Share the standards with relevant adults to increase awareness
- Organise discussions with children and adults to promote the standards
- Provide training or mentoring to organisers of global events
- Embed standards into existing processes and policies so that children participation becomes a standard practice
- Empower children and young people to lead advocacy efforts
- Strengthen collaboration among children, organisations and governments to embed the standards broadly
- Hold organisers accountable
Download the standards in English
Download the standards in Spanish