among children and other stakeholders. The report contains findings from focus groups with a total of fifteen children aged between 10-18, sub-divided into three groups of children in secondary school, children in primary school, and children with special needs in secondary school. The methodology applied in the focus groups is an adaptation of the ‘Kaleidoscope of Experience’ developed and recently piloted in Finland by Council of Europe experts, based on UN Committee’s General Comment No.12 on the implementation of Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In addition to the focus group consultations with children, the report also includes interviews with children in alternative care at two different such facilities—Maafushi Education and Training Centre for Children and the Correctional Training Centre for Children on Feydhoo Finolhu. Results of consultations with staff at these two centres, as well as at the Kudakudhinge Hiyaa (Children’s Shelter) at Villingili are also included in the report. Additionally, results of consultative meetings with stakeholders in various State institutions as well as with parents/teachers are also included in this report. The interviews with children and staff at the alternative care institutions were conducted at the facilities themselves, and involved observation of the institutions as well as of children within those environments. Consultations with children reveal that there are certain areas, particularly within informal structures such as family, where children are happy about the level of participatory opportunities. However, the discussions also reveal that lack of awareness and knowledge of the importance of children’s participation is most marked among professionals such as teachers, coaches, and other such figures who are expected to know most about these rights of children. Discussions with parents/teachers reveal that a large number of adults still retain the attitude towards children that they should be seen and not heard. Such individuals maintain a belief that ‘adults know best’ what is good for children, and continue to hold the opinion that children are not capable of knowing what is good for them and, therefore, need not be consulted. Overall conclusions can be drawn from the findings of this study that there is insufficient knowledge among the general Maldivian public as well as among decision-makers at the national level of the rationale and thinking behind the UNCRC and the rights of participation that it provides to children. The UNCRC envisages children as subjects of the rights that are enshrined in its various provisions, and recognises them as having the capacity to partake fully in the decisionmaking processes that affect their lives at every level—from family to community to the local and national level. This study recommends that a concerted effort be made by the State and its independent institutions as well as by civil society organisations to push for a radical change in the traditional thinking which dominates Maldivian perceptions of children: children should be seen and not heard. If children are not heard today, who will speak for the Maldivian democracy tomorrow? 2