Children’s rights: Belonging and participating in communities

Since the inception of UNCRC, a considerable body of scholarship has developed to consider what the rights of children are and how they can be enacted in everyday life. In this paper we re-visit the framing of children and young people and their rights, from the nascent endeavours in the 20th century to the present day, and argue that we still need to better understand the conditions by which children’s rights and their participation in their communities can be supported and amplified. To do this we draw on research with young people, growing up in some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most culturally diverse neighbourhoods. Using a mix of self-directed focus groups and visual methods, young people described their experiences of belonging and how and where they felt most able to participate as citizens. This analysis highlighted the significance of intergenerational connections within community, educational, cultural and religious spaces, where young people could express the right to be represented and realise the possibility for participation. We argue that children’s rights and agency need to be understood as part of relational interactions in the context of families and communities where children feel they belong and are given opportunities for participation.