CP4EUROPE Mid-term Conference
23-25 May 2022, Cork, Ireland (Hybrid)
Child and youth participation for Europe
On this occasion, the Council of Europe organised a mid-term Conference under the Irish Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers and its theme: ‘Hear Our Voices’ – Promoting participatory democracy and youth engagement in the 21st century’, in close collaboration with the Irish Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY), Hub na nÓg and the National Participation Office.
The event was held on 23-25 May 2022, in Cork, Ireland, in a hybrid format.
The objective of the Conference was to celebrate the child’s right to be heard and have their opinions taken seriously. This was the golden thread of the event where first results of the CP4Europe partner countries (the Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Portugal and Slovenia) were presented and discussed in light of the good practices shared by Irish Youth Groups and key actors, who had contributed to numerous initiatives in the field of child participation. Discussions were be mindful of today’s context in which children are also confronted with new challenges in particular with the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
More than ever, it is essential to mobilise efforts and resources to make sure that all children can be informed and explained in the right manner of such situations. This is the pre-requisite to ensuring that they can express themselves freely and take on an active role if that is their wish.
