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This co-written book chapter was part of the inspiration for setting up the network. Young people in UCan, UK advised young people in Japan during a research project to inform the return to the United Nations Committee for the UNCRC. One of the young researchers joined the academic allies in reflecting on the journey taken.
A young researcher and his ‘travelling companions’ reflect on the complex realities of adventures in peer research in Japan and the UK. We explore the barriers and enabling factors in this collective experience, to suggest strategies for international and intergenerational collaboration between young people and academics, highlighting the importance of relationships and attitudes. Unusually, the J-UK project was conceptualised and instigated by a young researcher who, with the support of an established youth research group UCan, was able to make the idea a reality.
The chapter celebrates the messiness of participatory research, recognising the different strengths that everyone brings and the importance of long-term spaces and relationships with children and young people for understanding and following their own research agendas. Sharing the learning from our experiences and strategies to undertake this work, we hope to encourage more inclusive and impactful research through which children and young people can set and pursue their own research agendas
Finch, Will, Martin, Katie , Crook, Deborah and Koizumi, Hiroko (2023) Adventures in youth-led research with disabled young people in the UK and Japan. In: A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation: Conversations for Transformational Change. A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation (2). Routledge, London, pp. 147-153. ISBN 9781003367758