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Participation

 

This part of the website is dedicated to participation where you will be able further your knowledge on what participation actually means; how it has an impact on young people's lives and what organisations throughout Wales are doing to make sure young people are effectively involved in participation.

 
This means the UK Government or the Welsh Assembly and what they do for participation This means giving young people the resources to make an informed decision. This means taking an interest and being part of a forum/project/organisation/school council etc in your local area This means when young people appear to have been given a voice, but really have little or no choice about how they participate – it is participation for participation’s sake or for a photo opportunity This means young people being included in making decisions that will affect them in the future This is the Welsh Assembly’s project of giving all young people, aged 11-25, 10 Entitlements in Wales This means understanding your rights in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child and Human Rights It is as simple as it sounds – enjoying what you do, playing games, not making it too intense and getting results This means doing a lot of talking about different things but then not acting on what was said to make a change for the better All young people working together to take responsibility for their rights and other work undertaken This means actively listening to what is being said and listening carefully This means understanding the work we do on the theme of participation

The diagram above looks at the words people often use to describe what they think participation means and the meaning behind the words. The list is very varied but the link between them all is the inclusion of young people in meaningful participation.

The video below is a short clip of Grand Council members talking about what participation means to them as young people. You will need to be able to open a media link to watch the video, if you have problems there are links at the bottom of the page to help you.

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When given the opportunity to participate, young people are also given the opportunity to make change - both personally in their lives but also in their communities and globally. The skills and benefits they gain contribute to the person they become through worthwhile participation, and the diagram below show some of these important factors.


Ok, so there are all these fancy words and meanings but what does participation mean? Back in 2005, the Government held a competition asking young people to sum up participation in one sentence and this is what they came up with:

"Participation means it is my right to have the opportunity to be involved in making decisions, planning and reviewing an action that might affect me. Having a Voice, Having a Choice - My Voice, My Choice."

By looking through the menu, you will be able to learn all about participation throughout Wales and the good work all organisations are currently doing! If you would like to put information about the work you do with young people in Wales in this section, please get in touch with kelly@funkydragon.org

To view this media clip you must click on the link below. The link will create a popup window containing the clip.

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To view this media we recommend you use one of the following Media Players Microsoft Windows Media Player or Real Networks Real Player. If you do not have any of these players and would like to install them please click on the relevant links below.

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