The main aim of the project is to growth in children and adolescents the positive worth and internalisation of the citizen exercise of participation through experiences of collective deliberation, cooperation and influence.
The specific aims are:
The project started with a pilot of three months in 2017 in an electoral context in Chile. The methodology, moderated by a teacher or a professor, proposed a citizen meeting where children and adolescents dialogue about issues that affect them and propose solutions for these problems. These proposals were uploaded to a web platform, in which they could be made visible by the citizens and by the candidatures. Thus, they obtained support from more than 4500 citizens and the commitment of various candidates to include these proposals in their electoral programs. Once the elections were over, more than 40 meetings were held throughout the country, we obtained more than 200 proposals and 19 elected candidates (including the president-elect) committed to at least one proposal.
We believe that there are currently four needs for citizens that must be met:
Their participation in decision making since they are young is essential to a citizenship that helps to strengthen democracy. We want a citizenship with experience, competences, and confidence to get involved in politics and that feels attracted to safe common good through collaboration.
To transform the pilot project into a viable platform it is necessary to invest additional time and enrich its components with experts from different disciplines. Being a platform of collective intelligence aimed to children and adolescents. There are some aspects of their design that need more specialized expertise, so that they can correspond to the needs and dynamics of the age group to which they are addressed. Until today, in the space of collaboration and civic technology there are no platforms directed and designed for this group. Simply versions of the platforms for adults are created, without considering aspects of usability, privacy, methodologies and dynamics that place the needs of children at the center.
Desirable collaborators profiles:
We look for collaborator with experience in children and adolescent participation. With competences in participatory methodologies, learning and work with this sector of population. People that wants to create new participatory spaces, safe and attractive to NNA. There are specially interesting for the project following profiles: