Municipalities seeking to enhance child and youth engagement in local decision making and sustainability work need to consider several crucial aspects: 

 

Empowering young people requires furnishing them with knowledge on sustainability issues and tools to facilitate their participation in local development. Formal school education, informal learning, physical activities and digital learning initiatives are all important components. Additionally, enhancing educational opportunities for teachers and youth workers to address sustainability is crucial. For example, Korsholm municipality and NGO Future Minds have developed non-formal learning programmes to boost sustainability knowledge and skills among students and educators alike. 

 

The youth engagement process should be inclusive and non-discriminatory. Engaging with rural areas and schools facing challenges, as well as collaborating with NGOs specialising in various thematic areas, is critical for reaching diverse groups of young people. Factors such as access to information, socioeconomic status, educational background and geographic location can influence young people's level of engagement. For instance, Youth 2030 Movement focuses on rural municipalities and aims to engage with young people who are less likely to participate. Meanwhile Gladsaxe municipality has initiated activities targeting children in foster care. 

  

Ensuring that youth engagement occurs regularly and is integrated into the formal procedures and structures of municipalities is essential. Local youth councils have been established in Nordic countries to provide platforms for young people to engage with municipal decision makers and influence local youth policies and decision making. In Norway and Finland, having a youth council is now mandatory under municipal law. Tierp municipality has a digital youth panel via an app called "Young in Tierp", which is aimed at enhancing young people's involvement in the local community. 

 

Decision makers should inform children and young people about how their input influenced decisions and ensure that promises made during consultations are kept. For example, in Tierp municipality, decision makers report to young people on what steps have been implemented (or not) since the last dialogue meeting. Youth coordinators hired in the municipalities as part of the Youth 2030 project ensure that local decision makers move from idea to action. 

 

Collaboration with a range of stakeholders, including municipalities, industries, academia and civil society, is crucial for enhancing local capacity, exchanging knowledge and ensuring sustainable results for children and young people. Building a broad network of partners that work together to empower and engage youth in sustainable development helps develop durable and effective solutions. Cross-sectoral and multi-actor partnerships are also integral to the successful and inclusive implementation of the Child Friendly Cities Initiative and align with the key principles of NGOs Future Minds and the Youth 2030 Movement.  

 

Youth participation should be viewed as a democratic requirement rather than a project-based initiative. For youth participation to contribute to more resilient and inclusive communities and societies, it should be addressed as a systemic issue, rather than a specific initiative.