We are pleased to announce the official launch of ChildACT - Child Action for Effective and Inclusive Local Policies, a European project funded through the CERV program, coordinated by CRPE - Centrul Roman de Politici Europene and implemented with partners from Romania, Italy, Spain, Latvia and Estonia, dedicated to strengthening children’s participation in local governance and ensuring that children’s voices are meaningfully included in decisions that affect their lives.
The project officially started with an online Kick-off Meeting on the 14 January, which brought together all consortium partners from across Europe. The meeting marked an important first step in aligning expectations, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and setting the foundations for a strong and collaborative implementation phase. Partners discussed the project’s overall vision, work packages, timeline, and coordination mechanisms, as well as the shared values that underpin ChildACT: inclusion, participation, safety, and respect for children’s rights.
The need for the project
Despite growing recognition at European level of the importance of children’s participation, in practice many children remain excluded from local decision-making processes. This is especially true for children from vulnerable or underrepresented backgrounds, including those living in rural areas, children with disabilities, children from minority communities, or those facing socio-economic barriers. ChildACT directly addresses this gap by supporting both children and local authorities to develop sustainable, child-friendly participation mechanisms.
Throughout the project, children will be actively involved through workshops, consultations, focus groups, and child-led pilot initiatives, allowing them to express their views, identify local challenges, and co-create solutions together with adults. At the same time, local authorities and civil society organisations will receive training, tools, and practical guidance to help them design policies and processes that genuinely take children’s perspectives into account.
For GEYC, ChildACT represents an important milestone in our work on democratic participation and inclusion. While we have extensive experience in youth participation, this project allows us to further expand our focus to children’s rights and early civic engagement, recognising that participation should start early and be embedded in everyday local governance. Over the next two years, we look forward to working closely with our partners, children, and municipalities to contribute to more inclusive, transparent, and participatory local communities across Europe.