This year the UNICEF's 'The state of the world's children 2003' report focuses on what many in India would consider a complete non-issue -children's participation. In a country where 30% of the population lives below the poverty line and parents routinely send children to work to support their families at a very early age, where traditional society places a high premium on age and authority, children's participation sounds an impossible dream. Yet even today they do participate. (Editorial)