PRESENTATION AND REPRESENTATION: Youth participation in ongoing public decision-making projects.

This article draws on material from a case study of a group of young people involved in ongoing public decision-making in a local authority. The group of young people is compared to a political interest group and insights from the literature applied. It is argued that two of the strongest resources the group had to offer adult decision-makers were their ability to speak on behalf of other young people and to do this in acceptable ways. Looking in more depth at these two resources, it can be seen that both were actively constructed and contested by the adults and young people over time. Both resources can be seen as holding advantages for the young people while at the same time being continuously problematic for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]