The OUR VOICES project has published its Stakeholder Consultation Report, presenting the findings of consultations carried out in Bulgaria, Flanders (Belgium), and Italy with young carers, family members, professionals, and policy and institutional stakeholders.
OUR VOICES brings together six organisations from five EU Member States – Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Slovenia and Sweden – and aims to strengthen the participation of children and young people with caring responsibilities in decisions that affect their lives. As part of the implementation of Task T3.1 (Stakeholder Consultations), consultations were successfully carried out in Bulgaria, Flanders (Belgium), and Italy, bringing together young carers, family members, professionals, and policy and institutional stakeholders. These consultations were conducted only in the countries where the Work Package 3 pilot participation mechanisms will subsequently be implemented and tested. The findings are presented in Deliverable D3.1, which provides the evidence base for the development of the Engagement Framework (D3.2) and the pilot participation mechanisms (T3.3).
More than 200 stakeholders contributed to the consultation process, providing valuable insights into the barriers and enabling factors for meaningful participation. The findings highlight that young carers remain largely invisible within existing child and youth participation structures, despite being affected by decisions across education, health, social care and youth policy.
Three key findings emerged consistently across countries and stakeholder groups. First, there is a recognition gap: while participation mechanisms for children and young people exist, young carers are rarely identified or engaged as a distinct group. Second, there is often a gap between being asked for an opinion and genuinely being heard, with many young people reporting that they rarely see visible changes resulting from their input. Third, stakeholders agreed on the conditions needed for meaningful participation: privacy and confidentiality, flexible and low-burden formats, peer-based environments, and access to trusted adults for support.
The report provides the evidence base for the next phase of the project, which will focus on developing an Engagement Framework and testing practical participation mechanisms that enable young carers to have a stronger voice at local, national and European levels.
We would like to thank all young carers, families, professionals and stakeholders who generously shared their experiences, perspectives and expertise and made this work possible.
The full report is available in:
English
Bulgarian
Dutch
Italian
Slovenian
Swedish