Rights Are Not a Favour: Why Youth Engagement MustBe Built on Power, Not Permission

LENA NABIZADA 

Across the world, young people are being asked to speak more than ever before. We are invited to panels, consultations, advisory groups, and youth forums. We are told that our voices matter, that our ideas are valued, and that we are the leaders of tomorrow. But for many young people, the question is no longer whether we are invited into the room. The question is whether we are actually heard once we are there. This is why the release of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition’s report, A Shared Understanding of Rights-Based Youth Engagement, feels so important right now. The report asks a simple but powerful question: if young people have the right to participate in decisions

that affect their lives, why are so many systems still designed in ways that limit our power to do

so? For me, this question is deeply personal. I grew up between two very different worlds. I was born in Afghanistan, where the voices of girls are often pushed to the margins before they are given the chance to lead. Moving to Australia, I came to understand the responsibility that comes with having a voice at decision making tables

especially when a whole generation of Afghan women are being denied the ability to speak, study, and shape their own futures. But even here, where youth participation is celebrated, I quickly realised that being invited to contribute is not the same as being empowered to influence. Too often, youth engagement is treated as a gesture rather than a responsibility. Young people are consulted, but decisions have already been made. We are asked to share our experiences,but rarely given the authority to shape outcomes. Our presence becomes symbolic a way to show that young people are included, rather than a way to ensure our perspectives genuinely guide the direction of policy and programs. The AYAC report names this challenge directly. It reminds us that rights-based youth engagement is not simply about including young people in conversations; it is about recognising young people as rights holders whose participation should meaningfully shape the decisions that affect their lives. This distinction matters. Around the world, young people are already leading movements on some of the most urgent challenges of our time. From climate justice to peacebuilding, from gender equality to racial justice, young people are not waiting for permission to contribute to the future we will inherit. But when institutions engage with youth voices without sharing power, we risk reducing that leadership to tokenism. Meaningful youth engagement requires something deeper. It requires systems that treat young people not as beneficiaries of policy, but as partners in shaping it. This means being honest about power. It means asking difficult questions about who sets agendas, who controls resources, and whose voices ultimately shape outcomes. It also means recognising that youth participation should not rely on the goodwill of institutions alone. Participation is not a favour extended to young people, it is a right. As someone who now sits on governance boards and advisory bodies, I have seen how transformative youth participation can be when it is taken seriously. When young people are trusted with responsibility, when our perspectives inform decision-making processes, and when our lived experiences are recognised as valuable expertise, the result is stronger, more

responsive leadership. But rights-based engagement also requires courage from institutions. It requires moving beyond performative inclusion toward structures that genuinely redistribute influence. This is especially important at a time when many young people are navigating a world defined by uncertainty. Climate crises are intensifying, conflicts are displacing communities, and democratic institutions are being tested in ways that shape the futures young people will inherit. In this context, youth engagement cannot remain symbolic. It must be structural.

The AYAC report offers an important step toward building this shared understanding. By clearly articulating what rights-based youth engagement looks like in practice, it challenges organisations, governments, and institutions to rethink how young people are included in decision-making spaces. But a report alone will not create change.

The real question is whether we are willing to act on what it asks of us. As young people, we must continue to claim our place in these conversations not just as participants, but as leaders. As institutions, we must recognise that youth engagement is not simply about listening; it is about accountability. Because ultimately, youth participation is not about preparing young people for the future. It is about recognising that young people are already shaping it. And if we truly believe that the voices of young people matter, then our systems, policies, and institutions must reflect that belief not just in words, but in power