Child and youth participation

Do 18a

Child and youth participation

Participation and involvement of children and young people

Section 18a "Participation and involvement of children and young people" of the local government constitution (BbgKVerf) obliges Brandenburg's local authorities to involve children and young people in all decisions that affect their interests.

Young people learn how to deal with a democratic system through youth participation.

In Rüdersdorf near Berlin, exciting projects and construction measures are also on the agenda for the coming years, for example a public play and exercise area, the design of the neighbourhood square, the construction of new after-school and daycare facilities and much more. The involvement of children and young people is an enrichment here.

Since February 2023, the participation of children and young people has been anchored in our main municipal statutes. The forms of participation and involvement are

  1. Project-related forms of participation, in particular through co-design in the context of transport and/or urban planning and new buildings that affect children and young people and school-related projects;
  2. Media-related forms of participation, such as children's and youth pages in newspapers, magazines and the Internet, children's programmes on radio and TV;
  3. Open forms of participation that are initiated spontaneously and on an ad hoc basis, in particular through children's and youth forums, children's conferences and children's assemblies.

An additional person has been appointed to involve children. This person works on a voluntary basis and is known as the "contact point for children and youth issues".