Everyone should be able to participate in decisions about the systems, laws, and policies that affect their lives. This is a fundamental principle of a human rights-based approach.
Rights-based participation means that people have meaningful opportunities to work together with elected leaders, public servants, and other decision-makers on identifying and solving problems. It intentionally prioritizes people with lived experience of the issue at hand.
Done well, participation improves the content and process of our public decisions, and strengthens the fabric of our communities and our democracy.
At Maytree, we support and advocate for rights-based participation, so people and communities have meaningful opportunities to participate in the public decisions that affect them.
Featured participation publications
From ‘liability’ to leader: Why lived expertise matters to our work for social change
The author reflects on her journey from intersecting oppression to a career building equitable systems. She invites you to join her to break down how we mobilize lived expertise and incorporate it into our work for social change.
From storytelling to rights-based participation
Meaningful participation is key to a human rights-based approach. Storytelling is a start, but it is only one side of the process. We need to think deeply about how we receive those stories, incorporate people’s expertise into decision-making, and build relationships.
What could authentic rights-based participation look like?
Authentic rights-based participation will require that we be deliberate about naming and addressing the systemic oppressions of those who are disproportionately affected by poverty.
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From ‘liability’ to leader: Why lived expertise matters to our work for social change
