„It’s a two-way street!“

What structural approaches, resources and attitudes do (cultural) institutions need in order to successfully accomplish the participation of children and young people?

Children, teenagers and young adults take on different roles in the work of explore dance: they are the subject of research, those whose lives are explored; they are a source of inspiration for a contemporary representation of young people’s lives; and at the same time they are colleagues in the joint conception of pieces and during the rehearsal process, as well as visitors, who come to experience a dance piece and take in its effects.

During the exchanges between explore dance artists from various cities, it became clear: it’s not only the young people, who are bursting with enthusiasm and experiencing lightbulb moments popping up in all directions like popcorn. Producing for young audiences opens up new perspectives for adult professionals as well – both in terms of artistic discourse about aesthetics and representation, as well as regards the regulation of bodies and their movements.

by Carolin Gerlach | 11 October 2025

Daring to Change Sides

In everyday life, roles are often pre-defined: whether in the classroom or the theatre, students usually sit and react, while teachers or dancers often stand and act. How can this perspective be reversed so that young audiences can also become young co-creators? What form of collaboration enables young people to move from mere presence or involvement in an activity #attendance to contributing equally #participation?

Let’s think big and go one step further by asking: What could #structural #engagement look like; one, in which children, teenagers and young adults have their hands on the controls, shape frameworks, manage resources, make decisions and, in this role, effectively bring their concerns to the public’s attention?

Over the course of a three-part online event series in spring 2025, we explored and discussed the conditions necessary for young creative artists to experience the greatest possible freedom of action, self-efficacy and public recognition. We interviewed pioneers between the ages of 11 and 45, who gave us insight into six projects.

Create the Framework

The first session began with reflections from an adult perspective: What spaces are available and how can they be made attractive for children and young people to want to participate in them? Open programmes for children and teenagers are available across Germany from a wide variety of institutions: from churches to community radio stations, youth fire brigades and Red Cross Youth organisations to theatre and sports clubs. Taking the municipal administration’s concept for more participation by child and young people in Riesa, Saxony, we spoke with Fabian Brenner from the Child and Youth Participation Service Centre and with artist Dominic Glöß about structural requirements.

Dominic Glöß now lives in Chemnitz and works as an illustrator. Growing up in Riesa, he helped organise an art festival there as a teenager twenty years ago and witnessed the power of genuine youth participation. “It’s about staying with it, working together from the idea to the actual implementation, overcoming apparent hurdles, and going through the various stages of development of the collaboration.” Understanding each other as a team and presenting an idea to the outside world has shaped Dominic to this day: as a young adult, he and his friends founded the Kotburschi collective, which organises events such as the interdisciplinary art festival MALJAM JUMBLE in Dresden.

Testing Autonomy

The involvement of children and young people therefore strengthens both their sense of self-empowerment and their political engagement. But how are such opportunities for participation structured and accessed? What incentives are created to attract the attention and interest of young people? And what really makes participatory processes attractive to children and young people?

What answers do project organisers and their adult staff find to these questions – and how do they differ from the answers given by young people? We will address this topic in the second discussion session and hear directly from young people aged between 11 and 24 about the projects they are involved in, what keeps them involved and how they actively shape life in their local communities.

Inspiration from Berlin – Children Accompany a Festival

The perspectives of the young participants vary greatly: children have different needs and interests than teenagers, who in turn have a different view of the world than young adults. In conversations with children from the Blick’s Mal youth group at the Augenblick Mal! festival, it became clear how important contact with their adult partners from the festival team is to them.

Two cultural educators take care of communication with parents and guardians and supervise the children during the meetings. They organise rooms for group meetings and tickets for excursions, moderate the proceedings, and document and communicate the children’s decisions as feedback back to the larger festival team. The kids can always rely on this – and therefore feel well looked after. Incidentally, the language of appreciation is particularly evident here in one achievement: “When the chaperones actually bring the snacks we choose!”

Inspiration from Bremen – Young Adults Curate an Exhibition

“New Perceptions” is the name of the Young Curatorial Board at the Kunsthalle Bremen. The deal is clear from the outset: the cultural institution aims to “open its doors to new and younger audiences and promote diversity and participation.’”To this end, it offers its young board members the chance to design their own exhibition and the opportunity to independently lead guided tours at the Kunsthalle as paid guides

A project coordinator acts as the “hinge” between the young board and the management of the Kunsthalle. She takes care of communication and makes sure that decisions are taken notice of and implemented in both directions. Another cornerstone for the successful integration of the youth group is access to their own spaces. By providing a space and even handing over the keys, the institution allows the group to experience both a sense of belonging and freedom.

Inspiration from Wolfenbüttel – Young People Shape Local Politics

Freya and Emil from the Jugendparlament Wolfenbüttel are actively involved in local politics. They were elected by students for a two-year term and represent the concerns and interests of young people in their town, for example when it comes to school, leisure activities or the environment – from new sports fields and safe routes to school to better bus connections. The Youth Parliament listens to the concerns of children and young people and incorporates them into city politics.

Encouraging Self-Empowerment

Although the calls to run for office and vote in the youth parliament are aimed at a broad target group, Freya and Emil criticise the lack of diversity among those involved. Access opportunities in terms of equal rights and participation for all students in the city are therefore an important issue for participatory projects.

Who does an invitation reach? Who actually feels addressed by it – and who does not? How does the composition of a group affect its decisions? And what if young people did not first have to be invited by an institution to come together and engage in social or political discourse? In the third session, we will look at methods of self-empowerment.

Cesy Leonard, founder of the collective „Radikale Töchter“ (Radical Daughters), provides ideas on how we can formulate societal concerns, discover our own voice and take action. Since 2019, she and her colleagues have been motivating teenagers and young adults to participate more in politics using playful methods in school workshops. The collective sees it as its task to educate more people about the possibilities of political participation and, at the same time, encourage them to express their feelings in unconventional ways and to put utopian ideas into practice.

Changing the Rules

Performance art intervenes in the social and in politics and aims to transform society through creative means. Every square, park or street section has its own rules, which can be legally interrupted or disrupted for a short time through performance art in order to attract attention. This blurs the line between performers and spectators. It all starts with dissatisfaction: those who want to change something and find a way to make their voice heard on a chosen topic become active. The core of their performance art is working with anger and indignation, as many young people are familiar with feelings of injustice and can relate to them: “When was the last time you were angry and why? Has anger ever helped you achieve something? What makes you angry over and over again?” Anger often stands at the beginning of political change. “It’s a powerful feeling when we manage to turn anger into courage!” Young people are encouraged to use their anger for something productive.

How to #Rule?!

Successful child and youth participation has many similarities with dance and theatre productions: it requires people to gather in one place at the same time and focus on a common goal. The exemplary projects share the fact that they are affiliated with a supporting institution, which provides financial resources and professional accompaniment in the form of at least one paid specialist who mediates between the institution and the young people.

All initiatives are based on the conviction that children, teenagers and young adults themselves know best what interests them, what they want to do and what support they need in order to do it. It is therefore up to us adults to manage the spaces and resources, monitor regulations, listen attentively and create such opportunities.