Give children a voice

In January 2024, KdG Research and Stedelijk Onderwijs held an inspiration evening on children's councils. Stedelijk Onderwijs is an autonomous municipal company of the city of Antwerp and one of the largest providers of education in Flanders. In a children's council, children help shape policy at their school or policymaking within the organization where they spend their free time. During this inspiration evening, school workers and researchers shared their experiences and debated the best way to give children a voice.

Research shows that children often feel that their views and opinions are not taken seriously. To change this, KdG and Stedelijk Onderwijs have launched a project to create more sustainability, inclusion, and policy impact through children's councils. This so-called GOTALK project has been running since September 2023 in two Antwerp elementary school, elementary school De Prins and elementary school De Musica.

As the GOTALK team, we presented our approach to children and asked participants to improve it. The children from the children's council came up with the idea of having the adults at their schools sign a contract. That contract was to state that children's council suggestions should always be seriously considered and that after a decision was made by the adults, children wanted to know why a suggestion would or would not be implemented.
Anouk Van Der Wildt
Researcher

Make their voices louder

From research, we already knew that the voices of certain groups of children are louder than others. Children who are more likely to drop out are younger children, children with less evident home situations, children with disabilities and children from migrant backgrounds. One of the challenges of the GOTALK project is to make the voices of those children louder. When we presented that issue to the children's councils, we found that children immediately knew who we meant. They referred to the children of background and were immediately motivated to help us make their voices louder as well. At the end of this school year, we will compile the insights and leave for Italy, where our Italian project partners will test them in their elementary school next school year. And here in Antwerp next school year, the method that is currently being worked out in Italy will land with secondary school youth.'

Quality leisure time for children

Joris Kun, responsible coordinator of afterschool care: 'Why did we as Stedelijk Onderwijs choose to participate in the GOTALK project? This is not an isolated decision, but rather a natural step stemming from our active investment in the BOA decree that deals with quality leisure time for children. BOA is an integrated offer of out-of-school care and activities. The GOTALK project is based on this decree, which is today in pilot and rollout in Antwerp. It is an opportunity to investigate how child participation can effectively lead to policy implementation or influence. Our belief is that the synergy between these two initiatives can reinforce each other, enabling even more effective implementation and execution.'

 'We passionately believe in the power of quality leisure time for children. Because this free time is not just a break between school hours and days, but an essential part of their overall development. Our commitment to this project is not just a participation, it is a promise to the children of our schools, to their parents, and to society as a whole. It is a commitment to give children not only the opportunity to have their voices heard, but also to have those voices resonate in policymaking, with their own free time, and its accompanying needs and desires, as a compass.'

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