62% of children and teens feel unheard by their municipalities

A UNICEF Netherlands survey of over 1,000 children shows that 62 percent of kids and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 18 feel their municipalities don’t care about their opinions. This is even though 72 percent of children would like to share their opinions with their municipality.

Half of the respondents said they have no idea how to reach their municipalities to express their opinions. Of the children who were contacted by their municipality to ask for their opinion, 76 percent feel taken seriously.

“It’s a sore point,” UNICEF said. “Because while the vast majority of young people are eager to participate in discussions, over two-thirds say that their municipality has never asked for their opinion.”

Director Suzanne Laszlo called on municipalities “to engage with young people from the very beginning. Children and young people know better than anyone what they need to grow up healthy, safe, and with opportunities.”

Although children and teenagers are not allowed to vote, almost all municipal polices affect them, directly or indirectly, UNICEF said.

The most important topics for this age group are leisure activities, street safety, and safe roads and traffic. UNICEF surveyed 1.059 children and teenagers for the study.