No More Tokenism, It Is Time To Listen To Children’s Voices In Politics

Perspectives | Children in the Streets | Amsterdam, Netherlands

In July 2024, Michela Grasso followed the “Children of Woest” as they took a stand in front of the alderman’s office, dressed in bright yellow t-shirts, protesting the shrinking number and size of playgrounds in Amsterdam. Her account of the event caught the attention of BIKE TALK, sparking a deeper exploration into what this movement means and what lessons other cities can draw from it - listen to it here:

Children Protest In Amsterdam

Since then, Michela has delved further into the role of children in shaping urban spaces. True to her immersive reportage style, she joined young activists once again—this time inside Amsterdam’s council chamber—where they challenged policymakers with simple yet powerful questions about street safety. Read on to discover how their voices are exposing critical gaps in urban design and reclaiming space for play, movement, and community.

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Children are often disregarded as uninterested, powerless and not competent enough to engage in discussions and political actions. However, research shows that children are interested in politics and its mechanisms, but aren’t given opportunities to meaningfully learn and act in political processes (Janmaat and Hoskins, 2021; Bartos, 2015). In the European Union, many initiatives aim to engage children in decision-making processes, such as youth parliaments and children assemblies, tasked with drafting policy recommendations and voting on proposals. While commendable, these initiatives are limited to a relatively small number of children, which raises questions about who is in and who is left out. For example, research has shown that despite showing interest in politics, children growing up in families with a low-socioeconomic status, are more likely to become uninterested by the time they become teenagers (Janmaat and Hoskins, 2021).

Recently, 7 children (ages 10-11) were given front seats in the City of Amsterdam’s council chambers, to question their city’s Mayor and councilors on issues close to their hearts. Isla, Amaana, Ezra, Oumnia, Geeke, Jabir and Lois bravely spoke up, inquiring about all kind of urgent, important topics:

“What does the municipality do to ensure that all kids are safe and happy in the city?”

“What is your main goal for children in Amsterdam?”

“What is the municipality doing for climate change?”

“What are you doing for poverty in the city?”

“What exactly is the job of the mayor?”

“Is it true that there are too many tourists? What is the municipality doing about this?”

“How can you give children more freedom to be independent in the city? What are you doing to prevent cars from speeding and taking up so much space?”