Children's participation is deeply grounded in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Several articles stipulate that children have the right to participate at different levels in society. Moreover, the movement for child participation is a critical element in sustaining democracy across the globe and in individual societies and communities, whether in the North or in the South. Further, both Agenda 21 and the Habitat Agenda stress the importance of child and youth participation in environmental decision-making.
Participation is also central to contemporary strategies for reducing poverty.
The Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development from the World Summit for Social Development notes that women and children are especially vulnerable to deprivation, and governments should therefore make particular efforts to ensure the protection of their rights, including their participation in the planning and implementation of policies that affect them. As the first priority for action to eradicate poverty, the United Nations Development Programme urges governments and civil societies to empower people so that they can participate in decisions that affect their lives and enable them to build their strengths and assets. There has been very little systematic research that seeks to generalise beyond single settings. Gary Melton, as President of the Advisory Board of Childwatch International, and Louise Chawla, as International Coordinator for the Growing Up in Cities project, were asked to lead an initial planning group.