Why children's voices matter in health and social care

We're continuing the conversation about the future of health and social care in Wales with the latest episode of our podcast series

Llais Public Participation and Involvement Lead Jenny Mushiringani Monjero is joined by Nikki Giant, writer, social entrepreneur and founder of The Spark Movement, to explore why children's voices should play a central role in shaping health and social care services.

Children and young people experience health and care services in their own unique way, bringing valuable insight, creativity and lived experience to conversations about what works well and what could be improved. In this thought-provoking discussion, Nikki reflects on more than 20 years of working alongside young people and shares why meaningful participation goes far beyond consultation exercises or tick-box engagement.

The conversation explores the importance of children's rights in Wales, the power of co-production and why organisations need to create genuine opportunities for young people to influence decisions that affect their lives. It also looks at how services can share power more effectively, avoid tokenistic approaches to engagement and ensure young people are actively involved in shaping the systems, services and policies of the future.

The discussion continues about:

• Why children and young people's voices should be at the heart of health and social care

• The importance of children's rights and participation in Wales

• How young people bring creativity, innovation and fresh perspectives

• The benefits of co-production and youth-centred design

• Why sharing power with young people matters

• The risks of tokenistic engagement

• How organisations can create meaningful opportunities for participation

• Building services that reflect children's real experiences

• Supporting future generations to shape and lead public services

The conversation reflects a key message we hear time and again from people across Wales: services work best when they are designed with people, not for them. By listening to and working alongside children and young people, organisations can create more inclusive, responsive and effective health and social care services for everyone.