ACTIONS
10 Strategies to Participate More and Better in Municipalities
March 7, 2025
In IMCITIZEN, the children from the Platforms have developed ten strategies to strengthen and advance child participation in municipalities. Their strategies will help create spaces where children can actively take part in decision-making processes.
Some proposals include:
Collaborating with the city council and the child and youth councils.Meeting with decision-makers.Creating participation spaces in primary and secondary schools.Using the radio and podcasts to share our ideas.Organising activities to advocate for and celebrate our rights.
To download the poster, click on the image.
New Posters to Promote Key Strategies for Dialogue Between Children and Adults
March 7, 2025
Within the framework of the IMCITIZEN project, we have created posters featuring key strategies to ensure fair and equitable dialogues in spaces for child participation.
Some essential keys:Allowing enough time to express ourselves.Creating a safe space to speak.Listening to others carefully before speaking and respect speaking turns.Taking children seriously.
Because children's participation isn't just an idea - it's a right! Our rights aren't just words - they must be realised!
To download the poster, click on the image.
La Espiga Primary School renews its recognition by Unicef as a benchmark in children's rights education
March 6, 2025
IMCITIZEN Day. Child participation: keys to moving forward together
November 27, 2024
The event, which took place in the auditorium of La Pau school, one of the ten schools participating in the IMCITIZEN project, was a space for reflection and exchange to explore the values and challenges of children's participation in their communities, such as the school and the municipality, and to propose strategies for collective progress.
It was organised in collaboration with the Barcelona City Council's Department for the Promotion of Children, the Sant Martí District Resource Centre, and Els Porxos and La Pau Primary Schools.
During the event, members of the IMCITIZEN Child Participation Platforms in Barcelona shared first-hand experiences of the project. They explained what it means to them to be part of this co-creation process, the actions they consider most relevant and the challenges for the future. They also reaffirmed their commitment to their communities and expressed their desire to continue participating actively.
The Day included other spaces such as an interesting round table with socio-educational and technical agents, dynamic workshops to promote active citizenship among children and a lecture by Miquel Martínez Martín from the University of Barcelona.
IMCITIZEN at the Third In-Person Meeting of the State Council for Child and Adolescent Participation
October 26, 2024
International webinar 'Child Participation Platforms. Active Citizenship in Decision-Making'
October 16, 23 and 30, 2024
The webinar sessions, which will take place on 16, 23 and 30 October from 3 pm to 4.30 pm, aim to disseminate and report on the actions and results of the project, as well as to exchange ideas and experiences on how to include children's participation in decision-making at local, national and European level.
We will be joined by national and international experts on children's rights and participation, such as Dr Laura Lundy, who will join us on 30 October, and by the project's key actors: the children who have co-designed the platforms from which they exercise their rights to participation and democratic citizenship. They will be organising the session on 23 October.
Child Participation Platforms National Meeting in Madrid
October 18, 19 and 20, 2024
The second national meeting of IMCITIZEN Child Participation Platforms se ha celebrado en Madrid bajo el lema Children propose the Strategic Plan for Children's Democratic Citizen Participation..
The purpose of the meeting was for children from the 10 IMCITIZEN Platforms, in addition to enjoying themselves and further strengthening a participatory network, to share their strategic plans, explain their contributions and experiences, and provide elements to promote dialogue strategies with local and regional governments.
The meeting also served to share the platforms' projects and plans for this new academic year, as well as to prepare their participation in the International Webinar session on 23 October, in which they are protagonists.
43 children accompanied by 22 adults attended the meeting.
Meeting with the Director General of Children's and Adolescents' Rights
September 19, 2024
The coordinator of IMCITIZEN, Ana Maria Novella Cámara, and members of the Barcelona, Madrid and Mislata teams met with the Director General for Children's and Adolescents' Rights, Lucia Losoviz. The meeting was an excellent opportunity to present the initiatives and progress of IMCITIZEN, which is in line with the State Strategy for Children's and Adolescents' Rights (2023-2030).
During the meeting, the project's main contributions were highlighted, and the resources developed to strengthen children's participation and active citizenship at local, national, and European levels were shared. All efforts are focused on ensuring that children's and young people's rights are a priority in all public policies and promoting their active and effective participation in society.
June 2024
In this research report , we present the results and conclusions of the data analysis obtained by applying different techniques - questionnaires, participatory spaces, audiovisual recordings, documentary recordings - to the children of the participating schools, as well as to the adults who support the processes with different degrees of engagement and intensity - facilitators, teachers, municipal officers, family members. The study focuses on providing keys for systematising the co-design process of Child Participation Platforms and facilitating their replication in other contexts and municipalities. The report includes an introduction, the context of the research, the methodological design, the results in five sections and the conclusions, which include i) the main keys that will facilitate the process of co-designing platforms and ii) 10 steps to systematise and shape the co-design process. The document, published in open access in the repository of the University of Barcelona, is available in English.
Presentation of the Strategic Plans for Child Participation in the Municipalities
June 2024
In a joint effort to improve child participation in their territories, the Platforms have presented their Strategic Plans to local authorities. These events provided an opportunity to present the Strategies devised by each Platform and to foster dialogue between children, local authorities, and technical officers.
The presentations included an exchange of proposals on how to improve child participation and a dialogue with political and technical referents. Aspects that can increase children's participation were also explored in depth.
In some municipalities, the Platforms collaborated with the Local Child Council. This participatory approach has ensured that children's voices are heard and considered in local policy planning.
In some municipalities, commitments were made to incorporate specific proposals into local policies. In other cases, policy makers have committed to providing feedback and following up on the proposals presented.
Local and national training 'Reflection seminars with local authorities and civil servants'
March-May 2024
Between March and April, we held seven awareness-raising and training sessions, five local face-to-face meetings and two national online meetings to empower adults involved in public administration to make progress in the active representation of children's democratic citizenship and their capacities to influence local decision-making.
These meetings aimed to encourage municipal technical officers and local authorities to change their perspective on children and recognise them as active and committed citizens. The intention was also to find spaces for dialogue in the municipalities in order to increase children's participation in decision-making on local issues that affect them and are of interest to them, taking into account aspects of inclusion and non-discrimination (gender, age, origin, economic status, ethnicity, language, disabilities).
Around 100 people participated, including municipal technical officers and political representatives, who received 20 hours of training.
May 2024
This illustrated book This book reflects the collective work carried out together with the children of the IMCITIZEN schools who took part in the co-design of Child Participation Platforms as active and engaged citizens. You will find practical tools to facilitate this process, with resources explained by leading actors.
This book is relevant both for children who want to set up a child participation mechanism and for the adults who will accompany and support them.
Please, click here to download the book, which is open access and available both in Spanish and in English..
Development of a plan for the democratic participation of children in local communities
February-June 2024
The Platforms have developed a strategic plan in each municipality to strengthen their participation in public decision-making processes. In some municipalities, such as Castrillón in Asturias, the Platforms have collaborated with the Local Children's Council.
In developing the plans, the platforms gathered the views of other children, analysed the information, and shaped a proposal for a plan.
The proposals have been publicly presented to the community, including people of all ages and local authorities.
Click on the images to see each plan.
January 2024
The Toolbox provides knowledge, methodological tools and resources to review and strengthen children's participation in schools as they are the best environments to realise children's right to participate and include them in decision-making spaces at school, local, national and European levels.
This resource provides elements for adults involved in education, as well as those who have more or less direct contact and interaction with children to promote children's rights and their active participation in decision-making.
January 2024
From January 19 to 21, child and adult representatives from all schools and territories involved in IMCITIZEN gathered in Barcelona. The aim was to exchange insights on the work done and lay the groundwork for crafting a Toolbox to co-design and implement Child Participation Platforms. We had the chance to delve into the processes undertaken by each group, compare the Platform's regulations, and outline the key elements that a participation Platform should encompass. During the event, adults engaged in dialogical and reflective sessions to collectively evaluate the process and offer advice to fellow adults embarking on the journey of accompanying and supporting the creation and articulation of a Child Participation Platform. We have also enjoyed fun games and activities led by an outstanding team of monitors.
December 2023
The IMCITIZEN team wishes that 2024 will be the year of the creation of Child Participation Platforms at the local, regional, national and European levels. We must also celebrate all that has been achieved during the first year of the project: training campaigns on children's rights led by children, training on children's rights for teaching teams, co-design and publication of the toolkit, co-design of the participation platforms in schools... An intense and certainly fruitful year!
We will charge our batteries over the Christmas holidays and come back with even more energy (if possible) to continue making progress in guaranteeing and promoting children's participation and citizenship.
November 2023
This toolbox is the result of an intense and highly fruitful process led by 140 children aged 10-12 from the eleven schools participating in the project. They have experienced engaging and effective ways of raising awareness about children's rights among their peers at school. In the resource, you will find the experiences lived in each school and useful tools for children to train other children on their rights and how to implement participatory processes.
October-November 2023
October and November have been very exciting and active months for the groups of IMCITIZEN volunteers, as they have accepted the challenge and confirmed their commitment to create a Participation Platform in their school and have taken action. Ten schools from six communities have participated in this process, and you can see each of the stages on the website's Platforms section..
Starting in January, the platforms will be up and running at full capacity, serving as spaces for children's citizen participation in schools and municipalities.
Campaigns to teach about children's rights in schools
September 2023
In September, each IMCITIZEN group that developed the campaigns to raise awareness of children's rights in their school validated their contributions to the publication " Children as a trainers on children's rights. Our toolbox". Participants are free to revise the content, introduce any aspects they consider necessary, and add any additional information. Four groups participate in choosing the cover of the resource.
WEBINAR. Sharing experiences How did we teach other children about our rights?
June 13-14 2023
Gathering between children's advocacy groups campaigning to promote children's rights and the right to participation in schools. The main objective was to share experiences and get to know each other. Each session was attended by six different schools, totalling approximately 340 children. The meeting started with some quick games to activate us, and then each group was given 8 minutes to explain who we are, what we have achieved and what elements have helped us to prepare for the Day. Finally, there was time to ask questions and go deeper into some of the ideas from the presentations. The meeting concluded with a reflection on how we believe campaigns should look to make rights known. Communication, thinking, teamwork and play were highlighted in the discussion.
Training for teaching teams "Children's rights, active and participatory citizenship (YOUARECITIZEN)"
May - June 2023
In this training space, we focus on deepening children's rights, strengthening their participation and promoting their active citizenship. Our aim is for children to become more capable of leading and defending their rights and getting involved in improving their environment in an autonomous way. Through reflective sessions, the teaching teams review the Convention on the Rights of the Child and promote the construction of children's sense of agency, map the participatory spaces that exist in the school and design innovations that enhance the active and committed participation of girls and boys. The training aims to broaden teachers' competencies to accompany children in building their identity as citizens capable of transforming their environment and provide them with methodological tools to enhance children's civic participation at school and in their municipality. The proposed methodology is characterised by being participatory, reflective, critical and creative. They have been developed in four schools, with the participation of some 50 teachers, and in September and in October, they will be set in the remaining schools.
Sharing our campaign proposal with the teaching staff
May 2023
In four schools - C.P. El Campiello, Els Porxos, C.P. El Vallín, La Pau - a meeting was held between the group promoting the campaign and the teaching staff. The main objective was for the children to explain their proposal to the teachers and for the teachers to know their intention to work with the rest of the school groups. The teaching team, comprised of tutors and specialists, was distributed among the groups of children. In each group, the children presented their proposed activities to deepen their understanding of children's rights, and the teachers carried them out. In the end, everyone met in a large group to assess the experience, share what they had learnt and analyse what had functioned and could be improved. Naturally, there was no shortage of applause and congratulations at the end.
IMCITIZEN Workshops
April - June 2023
Fifth-grade boys and girls are invited to participate in workshops to further explore children's rights and the right to participation. These workshops have been conducted in twelve schools in five different municipalities: Barcelona, Madrid, A Coruña, Mislata, Castrillón and Azuqueca. Around five or six workshops have been developed in which the following topics were explored in depth: What is a right? How many rights do you know? What other rights can we discover? What do we understand by participation? Why do children have to participate? The sketch of a citizen. In the last two workshops, they will be asked to design a campaign promoting children's rights and participation rights. The aim will be to invite the other groups in the school to join a Participation Platform whose purpose will be to improve our municipality. Some 462 children have participated in the workshops.
