The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) host an annual conference for disabled children and young people and/or those with special educational needs as part of the Department for Education funded national programme Making Participation Work. This is a conference with a difference – designed and delivered by young people for young people! The conference enables children and young people to develop their participation skills and to recognise the impact they can have when taking part in strategic participation.
Children and young people’s right to participate is enshrined in law. Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says that all children and young people have a right to be heard in decisions that affect them, and to take part in decision-making. Clause 19 of the Children and Families Act 2014 introduces principles around how disabled children and young people and/or those with special educational needs participate in decisions around their support and care. At CDC we believe children and young people’s right to be heard and to take part in decision making about their lives should go even further than what the law outlines. Youth Voice Matters was created to give young people a space to develop their confidence and their participation skills, to show them the different ways to speak with decision makers, and share with them examples of what can happen when young people realise their collective power.
In February 2023, CDC hosted the fifth national Youth Voice Matters Conference. Over 100 children and young people came together at the event and took part in workshops throughout the day which covered a variety of important topics. These included one on social media as a platform for self-advocacy and another on getting the right support during your education, both were designed and delivered by FLARE members and an National Children’s Bureau Young Trustee.
From the event, which was co-designed with children and young people in the FLARE group, we have made two videos. The first video shows an overview of the event. In the second video you can hear directly from the children and young people who attended the event. The transcript for the second video is available here.
An overview of the Youth Voice Matters conference
A video of roving reporters at the youth voice matters conference
Feedback from young people attending the Youth Voice Matters conference
It was very informative and gave me more of a vision to what I want to achieve
Attendee, Youth Voice Matters 2023
It was great to have young people deliver at the event
Attendee, Youth Voice Matters 2023
I enjoyed being in a fully inclusive environment
Attendee, Youth Voice Matters 2023