A young person's guide to defending human rights

While Scotland has an increasing commitment to children and young people's rights, there remains a lot to be done to ensure all children and young people's rights are recognised. Two young activists share their learning from being part of the children's rights community and particularly the Scottish Universities Insight Institute's seminar series in 2017. They write of the opportunities in Scotland, from supporting organisations to engagement directly with government ministers and other key decision-makers, for children and young people to participate and influence change. They note the dilemmas for young activists of balancing the different parts of their lives, from work to school to personal and family. They conclude that all children, young people and adults need an increased vocabulary for and awareness of children's rights and more systematic engagement and consideration of children's rights in policy decision-making processes. They look ambitiously to the future, where all children have this process of learning about their rights and the opportunities (but not the requirement) to engage meaningfully with decision-makers.