Children across Asia have a right to be heard, valued, and meaningfully included in decisions that shape their lives. At CRC Asia, we don’t just work on behalf of children – we work with them. This conviction has guided our regional advocacy since 2016, driving our efforts to ensure that child participation becomes a norm across ASEAN institutions, policies, and programs.
Working With, Not Just For, Children
Over the years, CRC Asia has invested deeply in strengthening the enabling environment for child participation. Key initiatives include:
- Three-year regional project on enabling child participation: Established frameworks for children to engage in decision-making at national and regional levels
- Child-friendly resources: Developed practical resources for children, youth, and adult stakeholders to strengthen participation and safeguard children’s rights:
- Introduction to ASEAN and Child Participation – accessible guidance and examples of engagement in ASEAN processes. Read work book: https://www.crcasia.org/child-participation-in-the-digital-world-for-csos-and-nhris-a-workbook/
- Adult First? – guidance for adults on creating safe, inclusive, and participatory spaces. Access guidebook: https://www.crcasia.org/adult-first-a-guidebook-for-child-related-professionals-and-adults/)
- Guidelines for Online Discussions with Children – ensuring digital participation is safe and meaningful. Read guidelines. https://www.crcasia.org/guidelines-online-discussions-with-children/)
- COVID 4P Log – documenting lessons on Protection, Provision, Participation, and Prevention during the pandemic, demonstrating the critical role of children’s voices in crisis response (https://www.crcasia.org/the-covid-4p-log-protection-provision-participation-and-prevention-for-the-wellbeing-of-our-children/)).
- IECs co-created with children: Involving children directly in developing Information, Education, and Communication materials on environment and climate change and against sexual exploitation of children
- CRC Asia’s member-organizations also developed culturally sensitive materials over the years. Learn more here.
Through these initiatives, CRC Asia demonstrates that child participation is not tokenistic but sustained, rights-based, and actionable, providing evidence-based models that partners can adopt, adapt, and scale.
A New Milestone: Learning Session on Meaningful Child Participation
Building on these experiences, CRC Asia and partners convened the Learning Session on Meaningful Child Participation with the ACWC, World Vision, and other regional stakeholders on 17 November 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Designed for ASEAN representatives, government actors, civil society, and practitioners, the session created a shared space to reflect on progress, surface challenges, and clarify what meaningful child participation should look like across Asia.
Discussions highlighted that child participation remains widely misunderstood and inconsistently practiced. Articles 12, 13, and 14 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) – children’s rights to express their views, seek information, and hold beliefs – require far deeper appreciation and capacity-building across all sectors. Participation must be understood as a shared responsibility among governments, professionals, parents, communities, and civil society. Speakers emphasized the importance of moving beyond one-off engagements toward sustained collaboration in which children’s recommendations genuinely influence decisions.
The session also underscored persistent barriers: the lack of structural support, limited resources, and harmful traditional views that still prevent many children from participating – especially marginalized groups such as child refugees, stateless and undocumented children, children with disabilities, and child survivors. Regional harmonization and inter-ministerial collaboration were identified as necessary steps to build consistent, child-sensitive systems across ASEAN.
Case presentations demonstrated what meaningful participation can look like in practice: balancing participation with play and well-being; integrating safeguarding and consent protocols; building children’s capacities over time; adapting activities for diverse needs; and ensuring that children’s participation leads to follow-up, influence, and accountability. Digital platforms were highlighted as possible spaces where child-led voices are already thriving, even as formal systems try to catch up.
Ways Forward: Strengthening ASEAN’s Commitment to Children’s Voices
The session concluded with a clear call for a more coherent and coordinated regional approach.
Participants agreed on the need to update the 2017 baseline on child participation through a new ASEAN-wide mapping, supported by civil society networks and child-led platforms. They emphasized the importance of incorporating children’s participation from the earliest stages of policy and framework development—not as an afterthought, but as a core principle.
A future ASEAN framework should provide practical implementation tools, indicators, and adaptable mechanisms for national use. Achieving this requires financial, technical, and human resources, along with a whole-of-society approach that brings together governments, CSOs, private sector actors, educators, legal professionals, youth networks, and community leaders. Safeguards for children as human rights defenders, trauma-sensitive practices, and inclusive formats—across language, disability access, and digital platforms—must also anchor future work.
CRC Asia remains committed to building systems where children not only have a seat at the table, but where children actually lead and create real influence and meaningful change. We invite partners to join us in making this vision a reality for and with children in ASEAN.
