Promoting the Human Rights of Children and Young People: The ‘Investing in Children’ Experience

Abstract

As long as children and young people remain politically voiceless and powerless, there will be little change to their status in society. Liam Cairns and Maria Brannen reflect upon their experiences of attempting to promote an alternative discourse within which children and young people are seen as active citizens, who are knowledgeable about their world and able to play a full part in decision-making processes that affect them. They draw upon case studies from a project called ‘Investing in Children’ to illustrate promising developments as well as some of the obstacles in their path.