Pre-Project Reflection Activities: Youth Development

Disclaimer:

The reflections presented on this blog are only the opinions of Matt Leslie.  I apologize for any inaccurate, delayed or incomplete information.  My education is in Microbiology, not International Development and while I aim to present well rounded and critical reflections, I apologize if I come across as narrow minded.

Youth Development 101

Today there are over 1.5 billion people between the ages of 10-24 (youth), and approximately 70% of them live in developing countries.  Everyday youth face issue such as: poverty, education, employment, health, drug abuse, gender equity, HIV/AIDS, active citizenship and information/communication technology.

It is important to engage youth in developing countries fora  number of reasons.  They are able to disseminate information in the correct cultural context, they can establish rapport with other youth more easily than adults and they may be willing to use creative approaches to problem solving.  

YCI's Youth Development program focuses on the following five areas:

• Leadership Development
• Environment
• Health
• Economic Development
• Education

"In community decision-making processes, youth are often marginalized and not
invited to participate in collective problem solving. This isolation can create social
contexts where negative stereotypes about youth may be perpetuated, and there
may be few opportunities for youth and adults to work in partnership." 

 My reflection exercise is asking me to develop a list of strategies for actively engaging youth in implementating a community development project.

Recruit Youth for a Community Development Project

There are a tonne of youth out there with great ideas. Youth who  know the day to day challenges faced by themselves and other members of their community.  I'm sure that if given the opportunity a lot of them would be willing to share their input to help facilitate a change.

Facilitate and promote social clubs and volunteerism

By encouraging youth to come together to participate in a common activity you promote the development of community. As club members become friends they might recognize and discuss issues that are occuring in their communities and may develop strategies for dealing with these issues.  Clubs for youth also allow people of the same ages, and of similar backgrounds to come together, which may create a more open and comfortable environment for the youth to work in.

Provide Funds to Youth to Implement their own Development Projects

While youth may be capable of developing and implementing community development projects, they may lack the funds needed to do so.  By creating a system, providing well thought out community development projects with funds to get their projects started, youth would be encouraged to be active community members.  By seeing the change they helped to faciliate, it may also encourage other youth to take part in the development projects.

Mentorship programs 

A program which brought youth and adults together would have benefits for all parties involved.  The youth may learn how 'the system' works while adults may hear fresh ideas and input.  This would allow for a transfer of knowledge between two different generations.  If the mentorship program was 1 adult:1 youth, a bond might form which would help to reduce the negative stereotypes held by both parties.

Education Rebates/Class Credit

A lot of youth have a lot going on, education or parttime/full time jobs and volunteering may be the last thing on their minds.  By enticing them with class credit or with a rebate on the cost of school, they may be more likely to participate in community development programs.  This would allow them to gain hands on experience, and allow them to spend less on their education.