Participation of children and youth in IFK Umeå

Since 2023, IFK Umeå has, through the Democracy Project, mapped how children and youth experience their participation and influence in the association, as well as how adults enable the voices of children and youth to be heard. The mapping is based on dialogues between active participants and adults, observations, surveys, and previous studies within the association. The purpose is to understand how children and youth themselves experience their own participation in sports, and what needs to be developed within the association to strengthen this work.

What we see – the greatest challenges

The mapping shows that several factors limit children’s opportunities to influence their sport:

• Participation is often overshadowed due to a lack of time or other priorities – among adults
• Few individuals carry a great deal of responsibility within the association, which makes change management difficult
• Many in leadership roles within the association request “ready-made packages,” but the work also needs to be flexible
• Children and youth are often unaccustomed to participation in sports because adults make quick decisions
• Children and youth have limited knowledge of how an association functions – the language and formats can be difficult
• There are misconceptions and fears among adults that the participation of children and youth means they will “decide everything”
• The volume of information within the association is large, making it difficult to reach out with new initiatives
• Change management requires time, and much change is already taking place in parallel

Participation must be strengthened at all levels

For the influence of children and youth to have real significance, the entire association needs to work in the same direction and at different levels. This requires both structural changes that strengthen youth participation and a cultural shift within the organization as a whole.

• Active children and youth: need knowledge and space to make their voices heard
• Leaders: need tools to create participation during training sessions without losing their leadership
• Important adults: need to understand the importance of their role and how they can strengthen children’s courage, voice, and participation
• Board and organization: need to build structures that make youth participation a natural part of decisions and meetings

This is important for EVERYONE to feel involved

Based on the mapping, IFK Umeå has identified areas that need to permeate all activities to strengthen the participation of children and youth:

• Knowledge of rights (The Convention on the Rights of the Child)
• Knowledge of how an association functions (associational democracy)
• Empowering children and youth – and providing adults with tools to “step back” when necessary (age-based power structures)
• Joy, community, security, and play as a foundation for participation (Clowns Without Borders)

How we work

The mapping has led IFK Umeå to address this issue at various levels. The material on this website is the result of this work, with the hope of supporting other associations and others within sports in getting started with this important task. New adapted meeting places have been created for children and youth, and the association has focused on including the child rights perspective for their participation as part of regular operations. The conditions in IFK Umeå’s eight different sections have varied, which also reflects the sports movement at large. Consequently, the sections have reached different stages in this work.