In this activity participants will explore where decisions are made that affect our everyday lives, for instance decisions that affect our homes, schools, groups and wider society. Looking at how accessible for young people these decision making spaces are is a great way to start conversations and get thinking about what things could and/or should change in the future to make this possible.
Before you start
- Flipchart paper and pens
- Paper
- Pencils
What to do
Where are decisions made?
Ask young people to think about all the places in your life where decisions are made that affect them. Write ideas on a flipchart. If they’re stuck/run out of ideas guide them towards the places below:
- Your school
- The head teacher’s office
- local council buildings
- Your home
- Houses of Parliament
- Government buildings
- At Woodcraft Folk
Can young people influence the decision-making in these places?
- Give everyone a piece of paper and ask them to divide it in half with a straight line.
2. They should choose one place from the list that stands out to them. Which decisions are made in this space that affect your life? In the top half of the first side of your paper, write or draw the place you have chosen.
3. Next, think about how friendly this space is to children and young people? Is it easy for them to get to and get into the space? Can they speak to the person or people making decisions and voice an opinion? Are they heard and taken into consideration when decisions are being made? Are your rights as a child (and human) being respected in this space? Underneath or around the name of the space write (or draw) any barriers that young people and children may face which prevent them being included in decision-making that affects their life or the lives of their peers.
4. On the other half of the paper, write or draw what changes you would make the chosen place. For example, what would make the space more friendly, inviting and accessible to children and young people? Is there anything that might young people of your age feel that their opinions were heard, and their rights are being respected? What actions could those who make the decisions in that space take to make it more accessible for young people? Is there something that could be changed in or around the space itself?
If there’s time, you can repeat the activity with other spaces on your original list, but make sure there’s still time at the end for reflection.
Discussion
Give everyone a couple of minutes to walk around and look at each other’s work.
Then discuss:
- Do you notice any common themes of barriers faced by children and young people?
- Are all spaces different?
- Finally, looking back at all your analyses, are there any spaces where you feel fully part of the decision making process?
Take it Further
If there’s time, or next session, young people could write a letter or get in touch with some of the spaces they have analysed and tell them your ideas about how they could be more accessible for young people. They could do this separately or as a group, contacting the space they think is the least accessible or the most important to be accessible.