Cultures of Participation: young people's engagement in the public sphere in Brazil
Udi Mandel Butler and Marcelo Princeswal
Over the last few years, we have witnessed a growing interest in research and social programs - implemented by the state as well as the non-governmental sector - concerning the participation of children and youth in the public sphere (Flekkoy and Kaufman 1997, UNICEF 2003). An important landmark in this process was the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child of 1989, followed by various initiatives based on a rights discourse, in a number of fields: against child labour, domestic violence, children living on the streets, amongst many others. The Convention of the Rights of the Child has a number of articles specifically addressing the right of the child and adolescent to be consulted over issues that concern them.
Prompted by these shifts, debates are occurring in many parts of the world concerning young people's rights to participation. In 'Northern' countries, like the UK and US, amongst others, the themes of child and youth participation is often linked to the notion of 'civic participation' and the participation in 'formal' political spaces like school councils and municipal forums (Coles 1995, Flekkoy & Kaufman 1997, UNICEF 2003). In 'Southern' countries, on top of these spaces, social development projects as implemented by multilateral agencies and a number of governmental and non-governmental agencies have also focused on the theme of child and youth participation. Such projects offer another space of participation which has to do with the involvement of recipient groups and communities in the process of planning and implementation of particular projects. Following this movement demanding the participation of children and young people in various sectors of society, there has been an emerging critique of the use and abuse of terms such as 'participation' and 'empowerment' particularly as found within the international development sector. Here we seek to critically engage with these debates analysing more precisely how these terms are understood and practised 'in the field' (Cooke, & Kothari et al, 2004, Rahnema 1992).
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