Childhood Participation in Chile: Debts and Opportunities From Child Protagonism

Abstract

When societies do not recognise the value of a democratic system and the importance of certain areas of citizen's participation to improve it, the context will probably influence the meaning of childhood participation in that society. This chapter will describe youth protests in Chile, especially during the social outbreak in 2019, its origins and consequences, emphasising in the opportunities that the country has had after that episode, especially in relation to the current process of socio-political, economic and cultural transformation as a constitutional change in which childhood is identified as an area of significant prominence. Children and adolescents are demanding a position in Chilean society, as social subjects who want to be active participants in this transformation and the protagonists of the processes in which they are subjects of intervention. Therefore, the perspective of child protagonism emerges as a proposal to promote a child-centred practice in Chile.

Citation

Jara-Osorio, P. (2023), "Childhood Participation in Chile: Debts and Opportunities From Child Protagonism", Frankel, S. (Ed.) Establishing Child Centred Practice in a Changing World, Part B (Emerald Studies in Child Centred Practice), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 219-229. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-940-620231015