by Nick Manning
Youth participation
... it's a phrase you hear a lot in youth work. But what exactly is it?
Youth participation is often short for youth participation in decision-making, which conjures up images of young people on management committees. While many youth services have successfully involved young people on their committees, I think that this is one of the less significant types of participation for young people.
It is essential that participation is in ways that are appropriate to the interests and potential skills of the young people concerned. Interests meaning that they get to make decisions and take action on the things that interest and concern them. Potential skills meaning that they get to do this in ways which not only reflect their current skills, but also skills which they are ready to learn and wish to learn. Sitting on a management committee may fit these requirements for some young people, but for most, other forms of participation are called for.
Participation should also involve action to implement the decisions taken, and to evaluate their effectiveness. There are better avenues than management committees for giving young people this opportunity to act.
Why bother with youth participation?
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Participation can lead to more appropriate and effective services and programs for young people, simply because some of your target group have played a part in designing and implementing them.
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Participation in making decisions and implementing them leads to enormous skill development and confidence building for the young people involved. They get to learn skills that many adults don't have, and this can have a positive impact on their school, work, social and home lives. They also develop greater independence and self-esteem, feeling better able to tackle new challenges.
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The two reasons above are fair enough, but I really believe that youth participation is simply a right, a democratic right, human right or whatever you want to call it, but a right. Not something that we say we believe in, but only allow when it suits us, or when there's time, or with the 'right young people', but something which we as more powerful adults are obliged to not only allow but to encourage.
To deny people opportunities to make decisions and take action to change their situation is to deny people an important humanising function: that of self-determination. In this way youth participation ties in with community development - it is a community development strategy.
Types of participation
Within programs
Most centre-based youth workers give young people some sort of say in the types of activities which they run, such as recreation and holiday programs. Great, but this really is the easy part. Do you know whether the young people really need and want your program as much as they might need a different sort of program altogether. Which leads on to ...
Within services
This is a bit harder. While having a couple of young people on the management committee is one way, there are often better ways of allowing young people to influence the direction and functions of the service. For example, young people could be involved in:
- evaluation and planning days
- selection committees for new staff
- new program development and funding applications
- advisory committees for particular projects.
Within the community
Young people can participate in their communities in a very real and active way. Lobbying groups, action groups to achieve a certain purpose, youth councils and youth advisory committees are some of the ways young people can have a say in their communities and get things changed.
How to promote participation
It is important that you let go of any sort of idea that you will "make participation happen". While your role is vital, it is one which involves not doing things as much as it involves doing things. It involves:
- believing that young people can be as effective as decision-makers as adults
- recognising that most people want to participate in things around them, but that society conditions this want out of some people (especially young people)
- you as the worker accepting that all you can do is help create a favourable environment for people take part, you can't do it for them. So let go a bit!
Open up 'space' for young people - throw questions to them about how they would like things to be, listen to their answers, engage in 'adult' (ie. respectful) debate, invite them to think about whether they could act on their ideas. Then move away (figuratively speaking), leaving them more space to ponder the discussion. Let it happen at their pace, but always encourage them to do more.
It is often a very new concept to young people that their ideas might not only matter but could actually be acted on by others or even by them. It might take a week, a month or a year for some individuals to see the possibilities. But keep opening up space, without pushing them into that space.
Be clear. If there are areas of decision or action which others (eg. management) need to be involved in, be up front about this. If the young people see that you are genuine and not simply trying to squash their ideas, they'll accept that. One technique is to divide up decisions into:
- those the young people can make by themselves
- those the young people and management/ staff/ whoever need to make jointly
- any decisions which the young people can't be involved in, and things outside the service's control, eg. to do with the law, funding body policy, insurance, etc.
This way everybody knows where they stand.
Be supportive. Young people will need to know that you will help if needed, but leave them to approach you, don't force yourself on them. It will help to set up explicit training in some of the skills that the young people need to make decisions and carry out their plans.
Talk to workers in your network for their experiences of promoting greater participation by young people.
Useful contacts & resources
YAPA
Community Development fact sheet
www.yapa.org.au/youthwork/facts/comdev.php
From apathy to action fact sheet
www.yapa.org.au/youthwork/facts/apathy.php
Youth activism leadership & campaigns web resources
www.yapa.org.au/youth/activism
YouthSafe
A great guide to consulting with young people:
If you want to know what we think, just ask us
www.youthsafe.org/pubs_resources/youth_consultation_guide.pdf (PDF)
Commission for Children & Young People
Taking PARTicipation Seriously kit
Participation Factsheets
(02) 9286 7276 www.kids.nsw.gov.au
Office of Employment & Youth, South Australia
Youth Participation Handbook 2001
www.maze.sa.gov.au
NSW Department of Local Government
Youth consultation checklists and reports on how young people would like to be consulted.
www.dlg.nsw.gov.au
