How we work
The Child and Youth Friendly Governance Project (CYFGP) is a Geneva-based global centre of expertise specialising in putting children and young people at the heard of decision-making.
We empower institutions to embed child and youth participation across governance, policy and practice, while supporting children and young people to develop the skills and confidence to effectively influence decisions affecting their lives – now and in the future.
The challenge
Children and young people are directly affected by decisions made by governments, foundations, nonprofits and other institutions, yet they often have limited opportunities to influence those decisions. As a result, services and programmes intended to support their development, wellbeing and rights may overlook their needs and lived realities.
Institutions increasingly want to involve children and young people meaningfully in their governance, policy and practice, but may lack the systems and capacities to do this effectively.
Our four pathways for sustainable change
Four interconnected strategies guide our work and help us contribute to lasting change:
Stronger systems and institutions
We support organisations and governments in embedding meaningful participation into governance, policies and everyday practice.
Stronger capacities
We build the knowledge, skills and confidence of professionals to facilitate meaningful participation, and of children and young people to participate actively, through tailored training, practical tools and mentoring adapted to each group's needs.
Stronger evidence, research and learning
We conduct impact research and evaluations to improve governance, policy and practice, building evidence on what enables meaningful participation and the difference it makes for children, institutions and society. We work with children and young people to shape methodologies, analyse findings and develop recommendations.
Platforms and opportunities to influence decisions
We work with organisations and governments to create platforms and opportunities for safe, inclusive and representative participation, while supporting children and young people to share their lived experiences and present their recommendations to decision-makers.
From participation to sustainable change
When institutions meaningfully involve children and young people in these decisions, it can lead to lasting benefits for children and young people, the institutions that work with them and wider society.
Children and young people
build confidence, life skills and agency, report better wellbeing, feel more included and can influence decisions affecting their lives in line with their evolving capacities.
Institutions
shape policies and services that better reflect their needs and lived experiences of children and yong people, while buildng institutional trust and legitimacy.
Wider society
benefits from stronger dialogue and intergenerational trust, more active civic engagement, and more inclusive and responsive public decision-making.
How we work with children and young people
Co-founded and co-governed with children and young people, we put the governance standards we promote into practice by sharing power within our organisation. Working together helps us set priorities, respond to their needs and experiences, test our approaches and share what we learn.
In our governance
Two boards with equal voting weight. On the recommendation of the children and young people who co-founded CYFGP, our statutes establish two boards, the Board of Directors and the Child and Youth Advisory Board (CAYAB). They have the same number of members and equal voting weight in the General Assembly. Dissolving CAYAB would require the General Assembly to approve a change to the statutes.
Collaboration between the two boards. The CAYAB Chair sits ex officio on the Board of Directors. Under the first agenda item, the Chair shares updates, requests for support and ideas for collaboration, then takes part in discussions on an equal footing with Board members.
Leadership skills through Board experience. We created two trainee positions on the Board of Directors for young people aged 18–25 to gain first-hand experience of board governance and develop leadership skills.
In our programs
We work with children and young people throughout the project cycle, from planning and design through implementation, monitoring and evaluation, including through:
Capacity strenghtening. Children and young people co-create and facilitate our Your Voice Counts workshops and We Give Back peer-training initiative.
Project advisory groups. We establish advisory groups so children and young people can shape planning, implementation and evaluation.
Consultations at scale. Children and young co-design methods and survey questions for our consultations. They also analyse the raw data, and we support them ind eveloping and presenting recommendations to decision-makers.
Conducting participatory research. We conduct participatory, where children and young peopler shape design, analyse findings, and are supported in writing reports and sharing their recommendations with decision-makers.
In our day-to-day operations
Student fellows and young people in our Secretariat lead activities in project development, fundraising, coordination, delivery and reporting. They also facilitate workshops and collaborate with children and young people from other organisations to coordinate social media campaigns led by children and young people.