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Decks by beth ferguson (0)
May seminarsSlide 1: Introduction
Good morning, everyone. It's great to be here with you all. Following on from Sarah’s overview of our training programmes, I’m delighted to bring you into another important part of our work at Hub na nÓg — our focus on research and development.
Research and development is really at the core of what we do because it helps us build a strong evidence base to better understand how we can meaningfully involve children and young people in decisions that affect their lives. This work covers a few strands — creating new resources, carrying out and commissioning research, and sharing examples of best practice from here in Ireland and around the world.
That brings me nicely to the resource Sarah mentioned earlier — our Toolkit for Including Children in Participation in Decision-making from Birth to 5 Years.
(Slide 2: Toolkit Development)
The development of this toolkit was informed by a comprehensive literature review, extensive consultation with stakeholders through working groups, and we also piloting in two different early years settings.
You’ll see QR codes on the slide that will bring you directly to the reports if you want to read these directly and in more detail, and of course, everything’s available to download from our website too.
Really the aim of the toolkit is to strengthen the sector's ability to uphold Article 12 of the UNCRC — by ensuring that even our youngest citizens have their voices heard and considered in decisions that affect them.
(Slide 3: Top Tips for Good Practice)
The purpose of the toolkit isn’t to be solely theoretical; it distills practical tips for good practice. As you can see on this slide, these tips highlight creative and relational methods for respecting the evolving capacities of babies, toddlers, and young children.. They draw directly from the experiences shared in the good practice examples within the full toolkit and align with the core principles of the National Participation Framework. It's this belief in the foundational importance of early participation that informs all of our work, across all age groups and abilities
(Slide 4: Expert Engagement)
Although Hub na nÓg is the national centre of excellence for children and young people’s participation, there are many fields or areas within children and young people’s lives that we are not experts upon, for example, early years or disability. That's why we closely liaise with experts in each area to commission research and produce resources that are properly grounded in evidence.
For example, in 2024, we partnered with key organisations like Dublin City University and the National Disability Authority to develop a literature review and scoping document on the Inclusion of Disabled Children and Young People in Participation in Decision-Making, which also drew upon on the expertise of Disabled Persons Organisations and academics within our working groups. This work will pave the way for a new disability toolkit, following the same practical approach as our early years toolkit — with the longer-term aim of building a full suite of resources to support participation across many sectors.
(Slide 5: The Inter-agency Landscape)
Recognising the interconnectedness of services impacting children and young people, we are establishing an inter-agency Network of Practice. Its core purpose is to foster a collaborative environment for sharing knowledge and approaches to inclusive and meaningful participation across Ireland.
(Slide 6: Shaping the Network via YP consultation)
Importantly, the very design of Network itself was shaped by consultations — with both young people and organisations working in the sector.
When we asked young people for their thoughts, one lovely image emerged: they said the Network should be like a swarm of bees. In other words, members would leave the hive (the Network), gather "pollen" (young people's views and experiences), and bring it back to and implement in their own organisations — their own hives.
One of the network’s main aims, therefore, is for members to share knowledge and learning from the Network and implement good practice in children and young people’s participation within their own settings.
(Slide 7: Shaping the Network via Stakeholder consultation)
Our consultation with organisations also revealed a real appetite for connecting with others within their sector and for honest discussion — not just about what’s working, but what’s not working, too.
This feedback directly led to another key aim of the Network: to create a space where both effective and ineffective practices are shared and explored, including hearing directly from children and young people themselves on what helps and hinders their participation.
We are delighted to announce that the first meeting of the Network of Practice is scheduled for September. We hope that it will provide a valuable space for fostering collaboration sharing of good practice.
Of course, the sharing of good practice is something we already promote — particularly through the case studies section of our website.
(Slide 8: Spotlighting Good Practice)
We often hear that one of the most useful ways to spark new ideas and approaches is by learning from what others are doing, sometimes even in different countries or entirely different types of organisations.
Very often, it's these shared examples that inspire new ideas and help us adapt practices to our own settings. At Hub na nÓg, we know the value of learning from others. That’s why our website features a dedicated Case Studies section — showcasing examples from both local initiatives and larger, national efforts.
These examples show how different organisations have meaningfully included children and young people in decision-making — whether in everyday spaces or formal planning processes.
If you’d like to explore them further, you’ll find QR codes available, or you can access them directly on our website.
Slide 9: Transition to Website and Library
The good practice examples are just one part of what our website offers.
The website itself is designed to be a central hub for sharing knowledge, supporting practitioners, academics, researchers, and policymakers with practical resources on children's and young people’s participation.
A key part of the site is our Library, which brings together toolkits, reports, guidance, and articles — both from Ireland and from international contexts — all aimed at supporting better participation practice.
Resources are organised by theme, by age group, and by area of work — covering education, child protection, health, and beyond. And importantly, the library is regularly updated to capture emerging learning and new innovations.
Before we move on, I’d like to invite a quick show of hands — or rather, cards — again:
Green card if you have ever used a resource from outside your own country to inform your practice.
Red card if you mostly draw from local sources.
[Pause for card responses]
Thank you! It’s always interesting to see how ideas travel across borders — and it reminds us just how valuable it is to have a platform that brings together knowledge from many different places.
And with that, let’s move to look briefly at the impact the website has had over the past year.
(Slide 10: Website Statistics Q1 2025)
Our efforts to share knowledge are really having an impact.
As you can see from the slide, in the first quarter of this year alone, our website had over 18,000 visitors — compared to around 11,000 this time last year, and just over 2,000 the year before that.
It’s been brilliant to see that growth and the level of engagement from people working across different sectors.
Slide 11: Responding to Growing Demand
Since the 1st of January this year, people from 156 countries around the world have visited the Hub na nÓg website.
The demand for knowledge and support around children and young people's participation is growing fast — both here in Ireland and internationally.
And in response to that demand, we’re developing a brand new e-learning course. And on that note, I would like to hand over to Rosie, who will provide you with more details about this new initiative.
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