Children's praticipation : the theory and practice of young citizens in community development and environment care

This book was commissioned by two separate units of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the former Environment Section (now part of the Water, Environment and Sanitation Cluster) of UNICEF head quarters in New York and the Children's Rights Section of the International Child Development Centre of UNICEF in Florence, Italy. It is an attempt to further the prospects for marriage of these two concerns of growing international importance: the environment, as now expressed by the international movement for sustainable development, and children's rights, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is designed to serve two audi ences. For those who are concerned with sustainable development, but have not worked with children, it is an introduction to children's participation and its effec tiveness in community-based environmental planning and management; I hope it will be useful to both governmental and non-governmental agencies involved in environment and development work. For educators, community leaders and others who already understand children's capacities but would like to know more prac tically about how to involve them in community development and environmental projects, it offers organizing principles and methods.