Meaningful Participation of People with Lived Experience of Care outlines why and how the voices of children, young people and caregivers with lived experience of the care system should be central to child protection and care reform in Ukraine. The brief clarifies key concepts and levels of participation, emphasizing that meaningful engagement goes beyond tokenism and must ensure influence, feedback and accountability.
The paper sets out core principles and practical considerations for enabling safe, inclusive and ethical participation across programmes and systems. By promoting self-advocacy, capacity strengthening and rights-based engagement, it supports more responsive, equitable and effective care reforms aligned with child rights standards and UNICEF programming approaches.
