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Promoting Youth Participation
by John E. Kyle
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There is no one “right” way to promote youth participation in municipal government and youth involvement in local communities. Nevertheless, city leaders and young people can choose among a broad array of exciting options, according to a new action kit titled “Promoting Youth Participation” by the National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education and Families.
City officials in communities large and small already have taken steps to ensure that youths have a voice and a role in local government. Promoting Youth Participation, the third in a series of Institute action kits for municipal leaders, offers advice and a menu of possible strategies to guide future efforts.
The kit, published with support from the MetLife Foundation, is being distributed to municipal officials and community leaders across the country.
The Importance of Youth Participation
Nothing is more important to the health of our democracy than the active engagement of young people in representative government at the local level. For this reason alone, mayors and city councilmembers across the nation have sought creative and effective ways to ensure that youths have a “seat at the table” in their cities and towns.
Concerted efforts to encourage youth participation and involvement also can help municipal leaders make better decisions and wiser public investments. Youths frequently are seen as problems to be fixed, but by involving them in local decision making they become assets and resources to mayors and city councilmembers who are seeking effective solutions to community ills.
Finally, youth participation and involvement in local government promotes the full and healthy development of young people. Through civic engagement, young people gain work experience, acquire new skills, learn responsibility and accountability, develop a greater sense of confidence, empowerment and membership, and forge meaningful connections with other young people and adults.
As noted in Promoting Youth Participation, city officials make decisions that affect youths on a daily basis. All too often, however, young people have no direct role in shaping or influencing local policies and programs. The new action kit is intended as a tool to help municipal leaders avoid that result and ensure that youths have a great voice in their communities.
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Options To Consider
The structure of municipal governments, local traditions, politics, culture and the views of young people all vary greatly across communities. In responding to their own unique circumstances in needs, city officials can join with young people to consider four sets of strategies that will help their communities move forward:
Promoting Youth Service –
Efforts to encourage youth service are one of the simplest ways to ensure that the entire community, including young people themselves, view youths as resources and solutions rather than problems and victims. Tapping the talents and energies of young people enables cities and towns to undertake projects that otherwise would remain undone. Youth service projects also enable young people to build skills, gain experience, and take advantage of important opportunities to learn new things outside the classroom. Coral Springs recruits high school volunteers for various projects, and Hands-On Miami has an active participation in National Youth Service Day. The Jacksonville Youth Volunteers is focused on service learning, whereby community service projects reinforce academic instruction, and classroom activities enhance students’ understanding of community needs.
Hosting a Youth Summit –
Youth summits or similar forums for discussions involving youths give community leaders the chance to hear, straight from young people, what the city can do to improve and nurture positive youth development in their city. It also can be an effective way to begin a new youth-focused city initiative, or a means of gathering youth perspectives to be incorporated in the overall strategic plan for the city.
Planning Through ‘YouthMapping’ –
Because municipal leaders often have only a sketchy picture of what is currently available in their community, a number of cities have involved young people in well-organized efforts to “map” the neighborhoods in which they live. Developed by the AED Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, “Community YouthMapping” enables young people to canvas neighborhoods, using interviews and observations to compile detailed information on places to go, things to do, and services and resources available to them and their families. Youths in communities across Pinellas County are locating resources for youth, conducting youth attitudinal surveys, and presenting this information to the Chamber of Commerce, community groups and local governments. Youth volunteers have designed an Internet site that gives youths a list of places to go and things to do, in addition to other resources.
Establishing a Youth Council –
Youth councils are a popular and effective way to get young people more involved in solving local problems and more actively engaged in the community. Many cities already use youth councils to inject fresh ideas and youth perspectives into local decision making. Youth councils also can promote community service and foster a better understanding among young people of how municipal government works. From Gulfport to Lake Alfred to Orlando and across the country, youth councils are flourishing. In Gulfport, a relatively new Teen Council already has produced cost savings to the renovation of a recreation center because of their input to the plans; identified locations where bicycling, skating and skateboarding should be prohibited; and sponsored the city’s first “Race Equality Day.” In Orlando, youths meet with the mayor to discuss volunteer opportunities, police presence at schools and the importance of partnerships.
The most effective efforts to promote youth participation and involvement in local government begin with a heart-felt belief in its value and importance. When getting started, it is particularly important to reach out to individuals, schools and community-based groups that have a background in youth development. Involving youths from diverse economic, ethnic, cultural and language backgrounds early and often represents another key to success.
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Institute Assistance Available to Cities
The Institute for Youth, Education and Families, a special entity within the National League of Cities, helps municipal leaders take action on behalf of the children, youths and families in their communities. Cities interested in learning more about best practices, receiving technical assistance to get started or expand efforts, or networking with other cities that are engaged in similar initiatives related to youth participation, should e-mail John E. Kyle, program director for outreach and strategic planning at the Institute, or call him at (202) 626-3039.
Details: To be placed on the Institute’s mailing list or to obtain a copy of Promoting Youth Participation, e-mail Andrea Reid or call her at (202) 626-3006. Additional information can be found on NLC’s Web site.
Reprinted from Quality Cities March/April 2002
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