Interagency Youth Working Group
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Youth Participation | 
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Involving young people in all aspects of youth programming can be viewed as an end in itself or as a means to an end. Some organizations emphasize youth participation as a basic right: if a program is designed to benefit young people, they should have input and involvement into how the program is developed and administered. Others see youth participation as a means of helping to achieve program goals for youth or communities. They believe that increased youth participation can help lead to such outcomes as improved knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors. Both points of view have merit. While a rights-based approach is the underpinning of youth participation, youth involvement should also achieve improved program results in order to justify staff time and financial resources.
Programs use many different strategies to involve youth. In the past, youth participation generally meant peer education, youth advisory boards, and youth focus groups. In recent years, organizations have made efforts to integrate youth into programming, including advocacy efforts, governance, and evaluation. However, involving youth in meaningful activities can be challenging. Organizations must consider issues regarding selection, recruitment, and retention of young people, who can have various needs, skill levels, and backgrounds. Also, the involvement of young people may require significant examination of organizational capacity and shifts in attitudes.
Youth-Adult Partnerships Show Promise. Anecdotal evidence suggests that youth involvement can go beyond program interventions to include collaborations with adults in policy, management, and evaluation areas as well. (Family Health International/YouthNet, 2003)
Tools and CurriculaEngaging Communities in Youth Reproductive Health and HIV Projects: A Guide to Participatory Assessments (PDF, 2.25 MB). This comprehensive guide outlines how to conduct participatory assessments with youth and community members for improved youth reproductive health and HIV prevention. Drawing on YouthNet's experience in Namibia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, it reviews youth participation, guidelines for training community participants, and suggestions for adapting the methods and tools for use at other project stages. Youth Participation Guide: Assessment, Planning, and Implementation. This guide seeks to increase meaningful youth participation in reproductive health and HIV/AIDS programming at an institutional and programmatic level. The target audience includes senior and middle management, staff involved in implementing activities, and youth who may be engaged in an organization's work. It includes an assessment and planning tool, a training curriculum, and a conceptual overview of issues. The background handouts discuss such issues as impact and include case studies of successful youth involvement. (Family Health International/YouthNet, 2005) Young People We Care. This document contains a training guide that aims to prepare young people to become active in their communities, and some suggested community activities. (John Snow International, 2005)
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