Note for the evaluators: Here I present the abstract of my presentation in English language for practical reasons (due to the fact that the original article on which this presentation is based was written in English); however, during the event I will be able to make my presentation in English, Spanish or Portuguese languages. Thank you for taking my proposal into consideration.
Nota para los evaluadores: Aquí presento el resumen de mi presentación en inglés por cuestiones de practicidad (debido a que el artículo en el que se basa fue escrito en inglés); no obstante, durante el evento puedo hacer la presentación en español, inglés o portugués. Muchas gracias por considerar mi propuesta.
Nota para os avaliadores: Aqui apresento o resumo da minha exposição em inglês apenas por razões práticas (dado o artigo que é a base desta apresentação ter sido escrito em inglês); não obstante, no evento poderei fazer a minha apresentação em espanhol, inglês ou português. Agradeço-lhes por levarem a minha proposta em consideração,
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In my presentation at CLACSO 2018, I will advocate for the idea that child participation methods and platforms should be an integral component of participatory democracy in Latin America. Children’s political engagement not only contributes to the popular struggle for governments’ accountability towards their children’s rights commitments, it also helps realize the right to participation, enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The case study of the Brazilian National Street Children's Movement serves to exemplify child and youth participation in a Latin American country.
Children (especially those belonging to excluded social groups) have been historically marginalized from meaningful participation in governance in the Latin American countries. This presentation will make the case for the fact that child and youth participation should be considered as a building block of democracy and political activism. This is because encouraging children and youth to be active citizens is the key to establish truthfully democratic societies and states which comply with the human rights of the totality of its citizens, including the most socially and economically excluded. It can also advance the realization of children’s right to participate as active citizens and political actors, which is a universal value enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In sum, child participation has the potential to build future states and societies committed to realizing the human rights of the totality of its citizens, including the most socially and economically excluded. In particular, this presentation will focus on the importance of child and youth participation mechanisms in holding governments accountable with regard to compliance with their children's rights international commitments by describing the Brazilian case of the Brazilian National Street Children's Movement (MNMMR: Movimento Nacional de Meninos e Meninas de Rua).
The methodology used to draft the content of my presentation is conformed of a bibliographic revision of relevant primary and secondary sources, including international treaties, specialized research, scholarly articles, advocacy papers, testimonies from professionals, and pieces of news.
The structure of the presentation will be as follows: The negative consequences of the exclusion of children from political participation and decision-making will be described, together with the obstacles and opportunities for meaningful participation. Next, I will provide the definition of child participation (as enshrined in articles 12, 13, 14, 15 and of the CRC) and analyze the ways in which child and youth participation methodologies can lead to children's political empowerment. Finally, the history and methods of the Brazilian National Street Children's Movement are described to provide an example of a practice of a democratic platform enabling child and youth participation in politics in a Latin American country.
