Empowering Democratic Engagement and Community Transformation through Early Childhood Participation

Children have a fundamental right to express their opinions on matters that affect them, as outlined in Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) and promoted in the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee. By encouraging participation from an early age, we support children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development while fostering a sense of belonging and having a say.

Meaningful participation not only prepares children for active citizenship but also promotes inclusion, enhances community engagement and strengthens community ties.

Description

The project focuses on children aged 0 to 10 and their families, a group often overlooked in policy development efforts. In the 2019 “The Europe Kids Want” survey, conducted by UNICEF and Eurochild, only 3.2% of participants were aged 9 or younger. TOY for Participation aims to show that the early years are essential for building participatory skills and values, ensuring that children’s rights to voice their opinions and influence their environment are respected from the outset.

At the heart of the project are the TOY for Inclusion Play Hubs—inclusive, community-based spaces that provide non-formal education and promote participation for young children and their families. These Hubs prioritise children from vulnerable groups, including Roma, migrants, refugees, and those with special needs. Since their inception in 2017, 40 Play Hubs, including 3 mobile units, have been established, benefiting over 40,000 children, 18,000 caregivers, and 2,000 professionals across Europe.

Objective

Promote the meaningful participation of children aged 0-10 from diverse and vulnerable backgrounds. By enhancing the role of TOY for Inclusion Play Hubs, the project seeks to establish them as platforms for civic education, community engagement, and transformation.

The project will strengthen participatory elements within the Play Hubs through innovative, play-based methodologies, embedding child participation as a core practice. This will ensure that the Hubs function not only as inclusive spaces but also as active centres for civic engagement and advocacy.

Key Activities and Impact:

• Development, piloting, and dissemination of the TOY for Participation Toolkit, which will offer a conceptual framework and adaptable methodologies for meaningful child participation in community and institutional settings in early childhood.
• 2,400 children and their families in the Netherlands, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia, Latvia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Ukraine.

TOY for Participation supports child participation in early years at many levels, including: 1) Everyday decisions (e.g. what to play, how to solve problems, how to set up a space); 2) Group decisions (e.g. how to resolve conflicts, what rules we use, what stories we tell); and 3) Community input (e.g. what children think about parks, schools, transport, or safety).

Participation happens in many forms and is adapted to the child’s developmental stage, such as through movement, drawing, gesture, sound, play, silence, and words. By implementing play-based methodologies tailored to different developmental stages, we ensure participation is age-appropriate, inclusive, and impactful. Our intersectoral approach bridges community services to provide holistic support to children and families, promoting long-term community cohesion and participation.