Younger children are just bursting with creative ideas and solutions. They are just waiting to be given an opportunity where they can be listened to. It’s just about giving them the space, time and support.
Arden, Member of Children’s Parliament
We are excited to be working in collaboration with the Scottish Parliament to support their inclusion of children in Parliamentary decision-making. In 2024, we visited the Parliament and met with the Presiding Officer, Alison Johnstone, to sign a joint commitment to increase children’s involvement in the work of the Scottish Parliament.
This agreement has been written with children, for children. This commitment signals our aim to ensure that children in Scotland know that they have a voice in their Parliament.
Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, the Rt Hon. Alison Johnstone MSP
Since signing the agreement, we’ve worked with the Scottish Parliament to collaborate on making a video about how adults could help to make Parliament a more child-friendly place. The video will help MSPs and Scottish Parliament staff to increase their understanding of children’s human rights. You can watch it here:
A BSL version of the video is available here.
It is great to have this commitment from the Scottish Parliament, ensuring Parliamentary processes create a safe and friendly environment for children to participate in their democracy with dignity and respect.
We are looking forward to the next steps in our Scottish Parliament partnership project.
The Scottish Parliament and Children’s Parliament partnership project is delivered as part of our Child Human Rights Defenders programme. To learn more about the work of our Child Human Rights Defenders, click here.