Youth Development

With 70% of the world’s youth living on less than two dollars per day, it is important that we engage their population and help them, help themselves. These youth are facing some major issues that include but are not limited to: poverty, education, employment, health, drug abuse, gender equity, HIV/AIDS and communication technology.

Because youth can be oppressed and marginalized by adult populations it is essential to connect youth with other youth and provide them with a key to prevent further marginalization: OPPORTUNITY. We can engage youth in implementing community development projects by using the following 5 strategies:

1.      Outreach: It is very important for us to reach out to youth and invite them to participate. Like any oppressed group/minority, youth may not come to seek out assistance from the larger population. It is necessary to show them that we want to come to them and seek their opinions and contributions for projects directly affecting them. Demonstrating a valid desire to include youth in community projects will provide them with an opportunity to feel a sense of self-efficacy.

2.      Communicate: In order to engage youth we must ensure they have an equal opportunity to communicate in their own way and to ensure their message is comprehended with the context they intend to portray. This includes providing youth with access to information/communication technology that other youth have available to them. If youth feel their message can be portrayed through art (visually, dramatically, musically) then we must ensure they are provided with the materials and outlet to do so.

3.      Empower: Providing youth with the opportunity to have, hold and experience responsibility is to provide youth with the opportunity to succeed with a sense of ownership of their achievement. Give youth a project (or a piece of a project) with an achievable, realistic goal and provide them with the materials and time to complete their task with independence and respect.

4.      Collaborate: When it comes to a community project, partnership is a strong strategic element that allows two individuals or parties to combine their assets and become a stronger team. Youth should be presented with the opportunity to collaborate with other groups of youth or adults within their community to provide them with a sense of unity and equity in their environment.

5.      Recognize: Much like adults, youth may disengage from community development projects if there is no result or recognition. Do not treat youth any differently when it comes to recognizing their accomplishments in projects in order to keep them engaged for future development. Those youth that have had the opportunity to achieve and been recognized will only encourage and engage future youth to follow in their footsteps.