Ladder of participation

One of the most well-known concepts is the adaptation of Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation from 1969. In this concept, a strong dimension is connected with political participation or in other words those aspects that in a democratic system engage citizens in various ways in decision-making processes. Having said this we should not forget that a more broad understanding is necessary to have a full picture. The Ladder concept distinguishes the various dimensions from no participation at all to an ideal situation where citizen’s participation involves a shared decision-making power.

Hence the model wasn’t sensitive to the needs of young people in the early 90’s (as part of the Declaration on the Rights of Children) Roger Hart created an adapted version (1992). 

See the following image as it visualizes the different stages!

According to Hart, there is incomplete participation until the third rung of the ladder; after that, there are stages of real participation. 

Young people often only are “victims” of manipulation. It is a degree where programmes are often explained as youth-initiated only because they asked some young people (or the youth council) about their needs. In manipulation often happens that young people are being persuaded by adults that this way their voice is being heard, but is that a real participation? 

This persuasion is associated with the support of young people, which is nothing more than a tick on a list, in which the question is: have they been involved in the process?

Young people appearing as decoration is perhaps even more common than manipulation. It is quite common for young people to be shown as 'display' at the unveiling of a statue or ceremony. The aim here is nothing other than to make it clear that young people support the cause.

Token participation, although with varying degrees of seriousness, is an existing and established practice. It is a degree of participation that goes somewhat beyond showing young people in pictures. It is about giving young people a voice in processes that have been assigned to them. They may not have anything to say, so they cannot present their own ideas and the issues that concern them. 

An informed degree is the minimum level expected in youth participation. Here we are mostly talking about involvement in a specific issue, where young people are involved and informed about the details. They are given a mandate, so to speak, to contribute with their opinions. The information should be presented in a youth-friendly way and its accessibility should be the same for all groups. 

Consultation is one of the most common degrees of youth participation, as it is not so uncomfortable, even at a depth that is acceptable for the adults - decision makers. Nowadays there is stronger motivation to involve young people, which means that the views of their peers are somewhat important. This level also assumes that the views of the peer group are as important.

More often than not, it is even more common for young people to be involved in decisions related to adult initiatives. This is not a problem, because it could be the result of a well-functioning partnership; or it could be the result of youth work in municipalities: i.e. the needs of young people are heard, but the adults are already responsible for putting them into practice. Youth councils could be a good example to explain this rung of the ladder. 

The final stage is where decisions on young people's initiatives are taken jointly together with adults. We see this rarely in our countries.