Ireland's Children & Young People's Assembly on Biodiversity Loss (2022)
In 2022, Ireland did something few countries had tried: it ran a national citizens’ assembly for children and young people, in parallel with the adult Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. Thirty-five members aged 7 to 17, chosen by lot, deliberated one of the hardest environmental questions there is — and fed their conclusions straight into the adult process.
At a glance
Section titled “At a glance”| Process type | Children & young people’s assembly (random selection) |
| When | October 2022 |
| Where | Ireland |
| Run by | An intergenerational design-and-delivery team; parallel to the adult Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss |
| Participants | 35 children & young people aged 7–17, selected to be broadly representative |
| The question | How should Ireland respond to biodiversity loss? |
| Output | A set of “calls to action,” presented to the adult Citizens’ Assembly |
What happened
Section titled “What happened”Members were recruited creatively — through an open invitation to all 7-to-17-year-olds via schools, social-work services, and a children’s news bulletin, with a stratified sample then drawn from those who responded. Over the assembly, they learned about biodiversity loss from experts (with child-appropriate facilitation), deliberated, and developed their own calls to action — running alongside the adult assembly on the very same topic.
Inputs → outputs
Section titled “Inputs → outputs”In: expert input, child-led and child-appropriate facilitation, lived experience.
Out: a set of calls to action on biodiversity loss.
Impact
Section titled “Impact”The young people’s calls to action were presented to the adult Citizens’ Assembly, which considered them. Members felt the bigger impact was on perceptions — proof that children “know what they’re doing” and can be trusted with real questions. Years on (it’s now 2026), an active alumni group still champions both the recommendations and the process; one member persuaded her village’s horticulture group to drop pesticide spraying, and later told that story to the United Nations in Geneva.
How it went
Section titled “How it went”A landmark. It showed that under-18s, chosen by lottery, can deliberate seriously on a complex national issue and feed genuine input into adult decision-making — the model behind children & young people’s assemblies.
Sources
Section titled “Sources”- Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss
- Katie Reed (CRIN) & Laura Molds — DemocracyNext (2026): youtube.com/watch?v=G48qf6qvU20.