Youth participation and community change

Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2021

Youth are a heterogenous group, typically defined to an age bracket to highlight specific periods of social, emotional, and physiological development. They are diverse across ages, gender expressions and identities, sexual orientations, classes, races, geographic locations, access to power, and abilities. Most importantly, youth are categorized by the actions they take for the creation of a more equal and fairer world that is worthy of their energy.

Journal of Youth Researches, Republic of Turkey Ministry of Youth and Sports, 2017

Youth participation constitutes an essential process for promoting access to citizenship rights and particularly in terms of community development. So far, there has been little study in terms of youth participation in different matters and dimensions. Building on the notion of youth participation and empowerment, this paper tries to argue on the importance of youth involvement in the process of decision making regarding issues that affect their life. Young people are particularly capable of engaging in decision making processes, but this ability is often denied from parents, teachers, stake-holders or other adults because they often do not consider youth as being capable enough to be able to make decisions or take responsibility. One of the main objectives of this paper is to show how such conceptualizations towards youth participation can be very frustrating or detrimental towards their individuality. The paper proposes a few recommendations in regards to youth participation especially focusing on community engagement. In addition, social awareness, education and strengthening youth /adult relationships are central in the process of overcoming the imbalance of power and promoting agency.

New Directions for Youth Development, 2002

Given the emerging interest among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in youth participation, it is important to examine and assess carefully the promise and challenges of youth engagement.

Participation in Urban Climate Protection, 2011

Participation is frequently considered key to any policy response, more often than not with the ambition to orchestrate the comeback of previously established forms of political involvement. At the same time, participation tends to be encumbered with the responsibility to reconnect the politically disenfranchised, overlooking the fact that the mechanisms of exclusion reach far beyond the political domain.

2000

organisations is making a significant contribution to youth participation practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. We are grateful to them for their willingness to share their experiences with us. Within these six organisations are some very committed people, passionate about youth development and the work they do. Our sincere thanks to each of the interview participants for their insights into youth participation, and the time and energy they gave to the project. Thanks also to Aaron Packard, Sarah Thomson and Deryn Strange for their involvement in our initial focus group and special thanks to Teorongonui Josie Keelan for peer reviewing the report. Our appreciation goes to Sue Scouler for her time in editing this document. Disclaimer This report was prepared by Cathy McGachie and Kirsten Smith for the Ministry of Youth Affairs. Its purpose is to inform discussion on youth development and assist future policy, programme and service development. Therefore the opinions expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Ministry of Youth Affairs.

2020

Chapter 7. Empowerment and Co-design-what roles do they play in participation? And what is the role of 'listening' to young people? Chapter 8. Agency and Control-is it important that young people have control? Chapter 9. Are Alliances with Adults Strategically Important for Young People's Participation-or is there a danger? Chapter 10. Youth Engagement and Participation-can these two concepts work together? Chapter 11. What is the Relationship Between Citizenship and Participation? Chapter 12. Can Participation Go Wrong-even with the best intentions?

2006

Youth participation is a process of involving young people in the institutions and decisions that affect their lives. It includes initiatives that emphasize educational reform, juvenile justice, environmental quality, and other issues; that involve populations distinguished by class, race, gender, and other characteristics; and that operate in rural areas, small towns, suburbs, and neighborhoods of large cities in developing areas and industrial nations worldwide. As expressions of participation, young people are organizing groups for social and political action, planning programs of their own choosing, and advocating their interests in the community. They are raising consciousness, educating others on matters that concern them, and providing services of their own choosing. No single strategy characterizes all approaches to participation. Activities like these can be conceptualized in various ways. For example, Roger Hart (1997) identifies activities and places them on the rungs of a vertical "ladder of participation" in accordance with the power they exercise; Danny HoSang (2003) analyzes youth organizing, youth development, and other models on a horizontal continuum; and

2003

FIVE YOUTH from the San Francisco Bay Area recently joined twenty-five other young people and over one hundred adults at an international conference on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. “It was the most un-youth-friendly place,” explained one young woman. “Every day we woke up early and spent hours listening to adults lecture about the experiences of youth. There was no time for us to talk to anyone, no time to move around, and when we tried to tell them about our feelings, they didn’t really listen. Nothing really changed—until the last day when we finally got to do our presentation. One of the adults tried to come up and facilitate our question-andanswer period, and we just said, ‘No, thank you. We’re prepared to do this for ourselves. Sit down please.’ I don’t think the adults really got it until then.”1

International Research Journal of Social Sciences, 2018

The United Nations (UN) has characterised societies. As such, the youth are encouraged to participate in municipal development programmes, activities and elections. This can be done amongst others through local youth council aim to promote and protect the interest of the youth. They also represent the youth in governance of municipality. In South Africa, Department of Social Development White Paper for Social Welfar 16 and 30 years of age. The Correctional Services also refers to the youth as all those in the age range 14 to 25 years of age. The National Health Policy Guidelines focus on the adolescent and the youth as age. The African Youth Charter also defines youth as those between the ages of 15 years and 35 years and excludes the 14 year olds. The paper reviews the factors that hinder/promote youth participation in rural communit and projects in the Mafikeng Local Municipality (MLM). It also examine the role of the LYC in involving the youth in community activities in MLM. The study used open enabled the respondents to respond beyond the borders of the questionnaires.

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2016

Neighbourhood is a space for human to interact among themselves and to live with thehealthier quality of life. In measuring youth participation in the urban neighbourhood community,the understanding upon their contribution in the community programmes, and outdoor social interaction are required. There is differentiate between living in the urban area and the rural spaces, the urban dweller often interact with others by the time of working hour. This paper examines the level of youth participation in the urban neighbourhood community. The issue highlighted isthe youth marginalisation in the community programmes, decision-making process and outdoor space consumption.