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Home\Blog\Spotlight on GenV\Children’s Week Spotlight: Giving Kids a Say in GenV Home Children’s Week Spotlight: Giving Kids a Say in GenV Children’s Week Spotlight: Giving Kids a Say in GenV It’s Children’s Week! This week is all about celebrating kids and their rights. The 2025 theme is “Everyone should know about Children’s Rights” – and at GenV, we couldn’t agree more. We believe every child deserves to be healthy, happy and heard. That’s why GenV is working to make sure children and young people can share their ideas in the research that affects them. We spoke with Kate Wyatt, our GenV Research Assistant who is helping make sure our research is fair and respectful. Kate is learning how we can include children and young people in health research like GenV. Kate shares why this matters, what she’s learned, and how GenV is building a future where all children can thrive WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT GENV? WHAT DREW YOU TO WORK ON INVOLVEMENT OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN RESEARCH? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO CONTRIBUTE THROUGH THIS WORK? I am GenV’s Research Assistant for Design and Governance. In my role, I help keep GenV running smoothly and support the families taking part. I also focus on improving processes and making sure our research is fair and done the right way. Working with our participants and the community makes GenV stronger. It helps us plan better research that makes a real difference. GenV is for all children and their families. That’s why I want to learn the best ways to involve children and young people in health research. CHILDREN’S WEEK IS ALL ABOUT CHILDREN’S RIGHTS. WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT FOR CHILDREN TO HAVE A SAY IN HEALTH RESEARCH? Children have the right to be heard and understood. Especially in matters that affect them. Health research is one opportunity to give them a voice. Children have their own views and experiences that should not be overlooked. They can help us improve research and health for kids. This year’s theme for Children’s Week is ‘Everyone should know about Children’s Rights!’. You might want to learn about child rights with your family and friends. Check out this kid-friendly guide from UNICEF Australia with a printable activity book to enjoy! YOUR PAPER LOOKED AT HOW CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED IN HEALTH RESEARCH. WHAT ARE SOME INTERESTING THINGS YOU LEARNED? Our paper looked at how children and young people (CYP) are involved in the ways health research is run. We looked at past research and shared experiences. As part of this work, we found that CYP were involved in all stages of research, but that some styles were more common with younger children. For example, their help to guide the ways that data were collected by using visual tools (like photos) or hands-on activities (like play). My co-authors at the Centre for Community Child Health have since co-created a fantastic toolkit for involving CYP (Voice of the Child Toolkit). Paper Citation: Wyatt KA, Bell J, Cooper J, et al. Involvement of children and young people in the conduct of health research: a rapid umbrella review. Health Expect. 2024;e14081. doi:10.1111/hex.14081 GENV ALSO WANTS TO HEAR FROM PARENTS. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE GENV PARTICIPANT ADVISORY PANEL AND HOW THEY HAVE A SAY IN HOW WE DO RESEARCH? The GenV Participant Advisory Panel is open to all GenV parents/guardians. It’s a group of GenV participants who have offered to help shape the design and delivery of GenV. The Panel are invited to take part in activities like surveys and workshops. We are so grateful to our Panel members for sharing their views. Their input helps improve how we run GenV. There are currently over 1200 Panel members and growing. If you’re a GenV parent interested in joining the panel, please contact us at genv@mcri.edu.au. We hope that one day the Panel might include GenV children too! WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR GENV AND HOW IT CAN HELP CHILDREN AND FAMILIES NOW AND IN THE FUTURE? I hope that families continue to partner with GenV. Together, we have created Australia’s largest study of children and parents. It is an incredible collaboration built out of community trust. I am excited by the possibilities to come. I hope that GenV children grow up proud to be part of research that helps the future health and wellbeing of Australian families. Article by Michelle Barnett Share this article: