{"id":1371,"date":"2026-08-30T22:54:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/childrensvoicesconference.csu.domains\/2026\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2026-08-30T22:54:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:54:14","slug":"cvc2026-667","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/childrensvoicesconference.csu.domains\/2026\/cvc2026-667\/","title":{"rendered":"CVC2026-667 \u2013 The Nigerian children\u2019s parliament: Adult structure or children\u2019s space?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"cvc-hero alignfull\">\n  <span class=\"cvc-chip\">Presentation \u2013 CVC2026-667<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\">The Nigerian children\u2019s parliament: Adult structure or children\u2019s space?<\/h1>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<div class=\"cvc-authors\">\n<p><strong>Ewajesu Okewumi,<\/strong> The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe title=\"CVC2026-667 The Nigerian children\u2019s parliament: Adult structure or children\u2019s space?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9CzG5FvkC8A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<p><strong>Background:<\/strong><strong> <\/strong>The African Union Agenda 2040 aspires that all African states have a structure to aid children\u2019s participation, like the children\u2019s parliament. The recommendation for more structures like the children\u2019s parliament begs the question of how successful this model of children\u2019s participation has been on the African continent. Nigeria currently has the highest number of children on the continent and is one of the few countries to have established a children\u2019s parliament over two decades ago.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aim: <\/strong>This study explored the experiences of children in parliament and their views on participating in this structure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Method\/approach: <\/strong>A mixed method of surveys and in-depth interviews was used to collect data from 12 members of the National Children\u2019s Parliament (NCP) in Nigeria. Ethical approval was obtained from Moray House School of Education and Sports, University of Edinburgh.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Results\/findings: <\/strong>The findings reveal the children\u2019s parliament as a space for children\u2019s participation. How children engage and interact in this space is impacted by the entry method into this space and whose voices are prominent. Diverse issues intersect in how members of the children\u2019s parliament experience participation. Children\u2019s experience is observed in dialogue and intergenerational relations with both adults and other members of the children\u2019s parliament.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion: <\/strong>This study contributes to knowledge in the field of childhood studies and children\u2019s rights and to the debate on whether voice is enough. The promotion of children\u2019s participation in the children\u2019s parliament should be further interrogated to ensure it supports meaningful participation beyond the tokenism of bringing them into a space.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Implications for children and families: <\/strong>When included in spaces as a representative for children, you should be open to discussing with other children and getting their views heard too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Implications for practitioners:<\/strong> In creating safe spaces for children to participate and be heard, you should also consider which children are being included and how you would empower them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Keywords<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> children, parliament, participation, space, voice<\/p>\n<p><strong>This presentation relates to the following <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\"><strong>United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<ul class=\"cvc-sdgs\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal16\">SDG 16: <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal16\">Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal17\">SDG 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goals<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ewajesu Okewumi, The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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