Back in June I was asked, "Do you want to go to Galway for a participation conference?" Fastest "YES!" I ever gave.
A conference solely focused on participation is rare and I love any opportunity to learn and meet others working in the field. The event, chaired by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at the University of Galway, was called Shifting Power: New Frontiers in Youth Participation. And when we talk about participation, we can't not talk about power!
So off I went to the west of Ireland. A train, a plane, a bus, another train and finally a walk (in the rain, of course typical summer weather) later, I arrived at the university accommodation ready for two days of inspiration.
The conference was opened by Hildegarde Naughton, Ireland's Minister for Education and Youth, who addressed us in Irish and English and spoke about the importance of young people having a say in their future and our shared commitment to making that happen.
Next up was Laura Lundy – yes – THE Laura Lundy, creator of the Lundy Model of Participation - and Professor of Children's Rights! I was particularly excited for this session because I first learned about her work at university maaaaany years ago and as a youth worker, the Lundy Model has given me a language to articulate the participation standards I've tried to uphold throughout my career.
Laura explored why participation is a human right and WHY and challenged us to think about how we evidence our work more effectively. She spoke about creating SPACE and how we can genuinely share power within it to create epistemic resistance and challenge oppressive structures. And yes, I did ask Laura for a selfie. No, I'm not embarrassed. Younger me was geeking out and delighted.
You can't have a youth participation conference without young people, right? 👀
Queue the next session, Taking Participation to the Next Level: A Youth Perspective, where a panel of young people shared their experiences, what they've learned and what needs to happen if we genuinely want to share power.
No photos were allowed for safeguarding reasons, so let me paint you a picture. A huge lecture theatre packed with around 250 adults. Four young people sat on the stage facing us and sharing their backgrounds, experiences and opinions. Different stories, different perspectives but one shared message: we can do more for children and young people.
They challenged us to ask who isn't in the room and ask why. One young person said, “if a young person can’t come to the table, move the table”. That quote stayed with me throughout the conference and became a reminder to think more equitably about participation.
Another young person quote I loved was, “confidence comes after responsibility”. We often wait for young people to become confident before giving them opportunities, when actually confidence often comes from being trusted with responsibility in the first place – clock it. 🤏
After the break (food was included!) I attended a session on creative play- based methodologies. Four different projects showcased how they use these approaches with children and young people and I came away with SO MANY practical ideas: Lego, digital avatars, art-based activities and even a deck of cards that support group decision-making – I’m looking forward to using these with Just for Kids Law’s young campaigners. One takeaway was the importance of not interpreting or influencing young people’s message when they're trying to share it. Another takeaway was that “young people are not just contributors they are outlooks that adults simply cannot create”.
To sum it all up: “Play is serious”.
The day finished with several more presentations. Tanzanian youth participation practitioner at Citizens for Change gave his presentation on Beyond Participation: Shifting Power by Positioning Young People as Co-Researchers and Co-Producers of Knowledge. One quote that really landed was “(For young people) the door had opened, but the room was not fully ours”
Raphael reminded us that being heard does not automatically mean power is being shared and that meaningful power-sharing is often uncomfortable and imperfect.
The final session explored democratic schooling and included a video of students sharing their experiences in a fully democratic school. Yes, a fully democratic school?! I didn't know they existed either!
After a day absolutely packed with information, I spent the evening networking with some brilliant people, including staff from the Ombudsman for Education Office, students from the University of Galway, presenters and workers from ISPCC and Foróige. Then, naturally, I wandered into Galway city in search of a chipper.
And yes, it was still raining.
Day two began with Cath Larkins, Professor of Childhood Studies at the University of Lancashire, Co Director of The Centre for Children and Young People's Participation and Co-Director of the Social Care Rapid Evaluation Team SOCRATES. Cath presented Children and Young People's Participation: Thinking with Agency, Reciprocity, Context and Time giving a strong reminder that CHANGE TAKES TIME and that we need to be honest with ourselves and young people about this.
The conference hosts then shared lessons from UNESCO's experience in international participation work. It offered a strategic perspective on participation and how change happens across systems and institutions.
After lunch, I went to a youth-led workshop called A Youth Designed and Facilitated Conference is a Unique Way to Learn and Become More Effective in Supporting Young People.
This was my favourite session.
It was hands down the most engaging workshop of the conference. The young facilitators introduced themselves and then facilitated walking debates, Menti meter activities, broken telephone, human bingo, competitions and gave out prizes and sweets.
Every activity demonstrated how they wanted information shared and how participation could be meaningful, engaging and fun.
Watching them command a room full of adults made me incredibly proud to be a youth worker. You could genuinely see their confidence growing throughout the session. It also made me reflect on the conference itself and how much more of this approach adults could use when working with other adults. (I'll definitely be putting that in my feedback.)
The conference closed with a group discussion on how we can transform conference learning into real world impact. Through a Padlet and open discussion, we shared ideas and questions, with recurring themes around the need for stronger evidence for participatory practice, greater support for participation work, embracing discomfort and always starting with relationship-building being the main shared takeaways.
The conference ended with a TREAT of a performance of "The Spark" a song by the Irish children's hip hop groups Kabin Crew and Lisdoonvarna Crew that take part in weekly workshops which aim to create youth empowerment through music. These are a hugely talented group aged 9 to 12, hailing from two vibrant communities: the Kabin Crew from Cork and the Lisdoonvarna Crew from a direct provision centre in County Clare. They also wrote and performed a song about the conference which as you can imagine - was another absolute banger. I’d recommend you look these legends up and stream their music.
I left Galway feeling even more motivated and proud of the work we do to support and empower children and young people to influence change, learn and have fun in the process.
I also left absolutely exhausted with scrambled egg for brains… in the best way possible.
If you'd like to chat more about the conference or participation work in general, feel free to get in touch at [email protected].