Successfully Involving Youth in Decision Making

Copyright © technoKrats
Wednesday Work-out session – 28th of July 2013
Presented By – Ignatius Victor& Alexander kujur
Tenet Systems Pvt. Ltd.
An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Company

13 Points
Successfully Involving Youth in
Decision-Making

What is Decision-Making
 Giving every one the chance to participate in the
decisions that affect their lives.
 Making Decision involves:
1. Planning activities
2. Researching alternatives
3. Recruiting people
4. Directing action
5. Evaluating experiences
6. Advocating for change
7. Mentoring one another
Point 1
So why the Youth are kept away from decision
making process?

Decision-Making is Changing
•In the past, organizational decision-making was a
formal process, voting when the chairperson called for
a vote.
•Involving youth in decision-making can make the
process more dynamic, involving internet surveys and
discussion groups.
•Decisions-making can be big and small – they happen
everyday, everywhere.

Examples of Decision-making scenario:
1. E-mail to a supervisor
2. Involvement in planning a town hall meeting
3. Participation in a hiring committee
“There is no surer way to teach responsible decision-making
than to involve young people in decision-making that is
bigger than themselves – that is, community decision-making.
That community can be a youth group, a
classroom, an organization, a neighborhood, a city, or a
nation.”

Does Every Person
have a right to
Voice?

Decision-Making
steps
1. Define the opportunity
1. Define the opportunity
or problem
or problem
2. Identify the possible
2. Identify the possible
alternatives/choices
3. Evaluate the
3. Evaluate the
for possible
consequences
for possible
consequences
4. Produce a final
4. Produce a final
choice.
choice.
5. Implement the action.
5. Implement the action.

Point 2 – Youth involvement.
Basic Assumptions about Youth in
Decision-Making
Point – Youth involvement.
Basic Assumptions Youth in
Decision-Making
 Involvement should strive
 Involvement should strive
towards equal partnership
towards equal partnership
 Create a culture that honors
 Create a culture that honors
youth as full members of our
community
youth as full members of our
community
 Involvement should include:
1. Right to raise issues
2. Challenge assumptions
3. Provide input
4. Conduct research
5. Vote on decisions
6. Reflect on experience
 Involvement should include:
1. Right to raise issues
2. Challenge assumptions
3. Provide input
4. Conduct research
5. Vote on decisions
6. Reflect on experience

Ways to Involve
Youth
 Devising budget : How
activities are financed. More
responsible with funds.
 Policy-making: Youth
perspective for rules,
legislation that affect youth,
families, communities
 Research: Youth identify
issues that affect them
 Curriculum design: What
will meet their needs?
 Technology : Make use of
their knack of technology for
assistance, e.g,web design,
etc.
 Evaluation: Offer youth
perspective
 Grant-making: Offer youth
perspective; learn valuable
skills

Point 3 – Know Why to Involve Youth ?
 Getting youth’s perspective:
Policy-making, Research, evaluation, use of technology.
Offer youth a structure like forums, youth-spectrum to be
involved.
 Making them more responsible citizen : Change maker of
communities, societies, understanding the best use of funds,
resources and brainstorming to generate more of the same.
 Assume leadership roles in future

Point Point 4 – Know how to involve youth?
Conduct an Organizational Assessment :
Do you have “Buy-In” from your members to
Discuss member’s hopes & fears about
Assess Your Organization
Assess Your Organization
Conduct an Organizational Assessment :
Do you have “Buy-In” from your members to
involve youth?
involve youth?
Consider conducting youth-adult
Consider conducting youth-adult
one-on-one conversations
one-on-one conversations
Discuss member’s hopes & fears about
involving youth
involving youth

Point 5 – Determine Your
Approach
Two General Approaches
1. Involve young people in an
existing adult body.
 Add board positions for youth
members
2. Set up an adjunct body
consisting of young
people only.
 How will the group provide
input to the primary governing
body?
 What staff support is available
to keep the youth group
functioning well?
 Involve youth in the decision
 Remember to consider the
group’s Vision and Goals
 Be open to making changes in
group’s structure
 Discuss the pros and cons:
whether to add youth to an
existing group or create an
adjunct youth body

Point 6 – Overcome Organizational
 Define the Barriers – what barriers will likely pop up?
 Do you need to adjust your by-laws?
 Do members hold stereotypical views about youth?
What are your beliefs?
 Does your group have a plan to bring new ideas and
new young members ?
– Overcome Organizational
Barriers
Barriers
 Define the Barriers – what barriers will likely pop up?
 Do you need to adjust your by-laws?
 Do members hold stereotypical views about youth?
What are your beliefs?
 Does your group have a plan to bring new ideas and
new young members ?

Point 7 – Overcome Personal
Barriers
 What do we expect from young people?
 Do we expect excellence & initiative or do we coddle
or control them?
 The Role of Power – adults have more power &
resources than youth
 “Adultism” – Behavior, action, language or
limitation placed on youth people’s rights that does
not afford them the respect they deserve.
 Could you see a young person as a partner or only
someone to mentor? Are there things you could
learn from a young person?
– Overcome Personal
 What do we expect from young people?
 Do we expect excellence & initiative or do we coddle
or control them?
 The Role of Power – adults have more power &
resources than youth
 “Adultism” – Behavior, action, language or
limitation placed on youth people’s rights that does
not afford them the respect they deserve.
 Could you see a young person as a partner or only
someone to mentor? Are there things you could
learn from a young person?

Point 9 – Create a Strong
Orientation Process
1. Create a letter of
agreement, including
responsibilities.
2. Offer an orientation
session.
3. Create opportunities
for ongoing
orientation/training.
4. Find an Adult Ally for
youth members
5. Encourage youth to
ask questions or ask
for help if needed
– a Strong
1. Create a letter of
agreement, including
responsibilities.
2. Offer an orientation
session.
3. Create opportunities
for ongoing
orientation/training.
4. Find an Adult Ally for
youth members
5. Encourage youth to
ask questions or ask
for help if needed

Point 10 – Develop Young
Leaders
Essentials of Supporting
Young Leaders
Essentials of Supporting
Young Leaders
1. Identify the basic skills
needed to do the job
2. What training is
needed? Create a
training plan
3. Choose learning/training
methods
4. Reflect, evaluate
lessons learned
5. Sustain interest through
ongoing support
– 1. Identify the basic skills
needed to do the job
2. What training is
needed? Create a
training plan
3. Choose learning/training
methods
4. Reflect, evaluate
lessons learned
5. Sustain interest through
ongoing support

Point 11 – Provide Intergenerational
Training
 Bridge the gap between
adults and young people so
they can work more
effectively together
 Help adults remember what
was like to be a young
person
 Help youth respect where
adults are coming from
 “What do we have in
common” rather than “how
are we different?”

Point 12 – Facilitate Successful
Meetings
 Create interactive
agendas, how can we
incorporate
interactive activities
in the agenda? E.g.
Icebreakers
 What roles do we
want specific young
people and adults to
play during the
meeting?
 Making Meeting More
interactive .

“Young people are learning about life in
everything that they do, including the work
they do with you. Your work together will be
more successful if you get to know the whole
young person – the one he or she is outside
of his or her role with your organization.
Strong, respectful relationships with adults
and with each other give young people the
safety and confidence to lead in their
communities and transform their own lives.”
“Young people are learning about life in
everything that they do, including the work
they do with you. Your work together will be
more successful if you get to know the whole
young person – the one he or she is outside
of his or her role with your organization.
Strong, respectful relationships with adults
and with each other give young people the
safety and confidence to lead in their
communities and transform their own lives.”

Tips for Cultivating
Partnerships
 Let young people
be in charge – the
best way for young
people to learn is
by doing.
 Remember that you
do not always know
better
 Be consistent and
follow through with
what you say
 Let young people
be in charge – the
best way for young
people to learn is
by doing.
 Remember that you
do not always know
better
 Be consistent and
follow through with
what you say
 Never believe that
young people don’t
have an opinion
 Never believe that
young people don’t
have an opinion
 Speak to young
people with respect
 Develop a
Mentoring Plan
 Remember to have
fun!
 Speak to young
people with respect
 Develop a
Mentoring Plan
 Remember to have
fun!

Beginnings:
In 1984 over 300,000
young people from
around the world
responded
to the invitation of His
Holiness John Paul II
for an International
Jubilee of youth on Palm
Sunday in St. Peter’s
square.
Looking out to the crowds
who answered his
invitation he said,
“What a fantastic spectacle is
presented on this stage by your
gathering here today!
Who claimed that today’s youth
has lost their sense of values?
Is it really true that they cannot be
counted on?”
It was at this gathering that the
Holy Father entrusted
to the youth what is now known as
the World Youth Day,
to be carried throughout the world
as a symbol of the love of Christ
for humanity.
HISTORY

World Youth Day 2011 Epic -
WYD JMJ GMG WJT - VIDEO

Tenet Systems Pvt. Ltd.
42, N K Guin Lane, Serampore,
Hooghly – 712201, India.
Call: +919830158077 or
+1-850-745-0414
Web: http://tenetsystems.net
Thank you for your time!
technoKrats
43, N K Guin Lane, Serampore,
Hooghly – 712201, India.
Call: +919830158077 or
+1-850-745-0414
Web: http://technokrats.in

Successfully Involving Youth in Decision Making

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