Montréal: Children aged 4 to 12, today's citizens: boosting children's participation

Concertation Montréal is actively developing civic participation by children aged 4 to 12, so that their views are taken into account by adults in decision-making positions.

Since 2021, we have been consulting around a hundred children a year in the fields of urban planning, public health and culture. 

Our methodologies are simple and inclusive: interactive discussions, annotated drawings, pictograms, suggestion boxes and child-friendly response scales.

If children are to be given greater consideration in citizen participation processes, we need to raise the awareness of the adults who organise these processes and analyse the results. Since 2021, we have raised awareness among more than 350 people, including elected municipal representatives. We work with Montreal's institutions and socio-economic players, always in partnership, to achieve lasting and institutionalised changes in practices. 

Concertation Montréal is recognised by the City of Montreal as its preferred interlocutor for inter-sectoral cooperation and regional development. Our work with children has several objectives:

- awaken children's sense of citizenship and prepare them for active participation in democratic life;

- raise adults' awareness of the place of children in the city and in society, and of the importance of consulting children;

- respect and promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

We consider children to be citizens in their own right, with the right to express their views on matters that concern them.

Adopting the point of view of children in the context of urban planning means thinking about an inclusive city, particularly for the elderly and people with disabilities. Moving towards a city that allows children to move around and play safely in the street also means moving towards a safer city for adult pedestrians and cyclists, at a time when cars predominate.

Finally, getting children involved in civic life, from the age of 4, helps to build their identity as citizens and familiarise them with democratic processes. We're sowing the seeds of citizenship, hoping to see young adults who are aware of the issues and used to making their voices heard flourish.

The children tell us: ‘Sharing our ideas is the best thing we can do.

• https://concertationmtl.ca/consultations-citoyennes-aupres-des-enfants/