How Youth Participation Works
Youth participation in decision making is not a new concept, nor is there any exact science to successful youth/adult partnerships. The Youth Participation Strategy here at CHV has incorporated a number of tools to ensure many opportunities for our clients and staff to work together as opposed to an "us vs. them" approach.
DSV in particular has used Roger Harts' Ladder of Participation to guide them in developing an advisory committee that while run by youth, still welcomes and relies upon the guidance and wisdom of our staff and Board.
The Ladder shows the difference between tokenistic involvement and real youth participation when working with a mixed group of adults and youth. Our youth participants feel their degree of involvement has increased since DSV first started. But involvement varies depending on the task at hand as not all youth are interested in, or ready to take on roles that relate to front-line activities and may only want to attend the occasional advisory meeting to give feedback about a particular issue. Others are more interested in the development of policy, media or project management.
Here at CHV we have realized that when youth are empowered, it doesn't mean that the adults become disempowered. It is also important for our youth to remember that learning how to trust the adults in their lives is a viable goal despite what their past experiences may be.
For more information on our Youth Participation Strategy, please contact the Youth Participation Coordinator:
604-647-4480 or click here to send an email.