The CLAP project held its third in-person General Assembly in Budapest on 27 October 2026, bringing together consortium partners to review the project’s progress. The following day, a workshop in Balatonlelle extended the dialogue beyond the consortium, inviting representatives of municipalities from the wider Lake Balaton region to discuss experiences and opportunities for children’s participation in local decision-making.
On 27 October, following an informal welcome brunch, Dr Bernadette Somody (ELTE) provided an overview of the project’s progress. The morning session then turned to the Toolkit pilots, with representatives of the partner organisations — Hintalovon Child Rights Foundation, Happy Kids Foundation, the Municipality of the City of Budapest, the Municipality of Ferencváros (Budapest’s 9th District), and the Municipality of Lublin — sharing their experiences from the piloting activities. In the afternoon, Dr Anikó Sándor (ELTE) presented an update on the evaluation of the Toolkit’s applicability and discussed data collection issues with the relevant partners, followed by ELTE, as consortium coordinator, presenting upcoming activities to support the dissemination, wider uptake and sustainability of the project’s results. The programme also provided opportunities for informal exchange among partners.
Building on these discussions, a CLAP workshop was held the following day, on 28 October, in Balatonlelle, Hungary, alongside the 11th Polish–Hungarian Legal Studies Conference, jointly organised by Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS) and ELTE. Government stakeholders and representatives of local municipalities were invited to explore how meaningful and inclusive participation of children can become an integral part of everyday local decision-making.
Following opening addresses, Dr Attila Lápossy (ELTE) and Anna Glatz (Hintalovon Child Rights Foundation) presented experiences and lessons regarding the involvement of children from the CLAP project. The subsequent workshop discussion focused on opportunities, good practices and challenges in embedding child participation in municipal decision-making, including ways to institutionalise participation and share successful approaches.
The programme concluded with an agreement to meet again in early 2027 with representatives of the municipalities attending the workshop to continue the dialogue, focusing on specific topics related to children’s participation in local decision-making.
During the Polish–Hungarian Legal Studies Conference’s plenary session, researchers from ELTE and UMCS delivered two academic presentations on child participation, focusing on the integration of children’s voices into local policymaking and the involvement of children in participatory budgeting in Lublin.
The CLAP project is co-funded by the European Union (project no. 101190198, CERV-2024-CHILD).
