15 Points to Successfully Involving Youth in
Decision-Making
By Youth On Board.
Covering the essential elements of successful
project planning, this manual provides stories,
hints, and tools to make your project successful.
Adam Fletcher contributed to the most recent
revision. Order it from
www.youthonboard.org
Adults as Allies
by Barry Checkoway. This publication increases the
awareness of the role of adults in youth involvement
by posing questions, offering activities, and
providing stories that highlight effective
intergenerational interaction. Download at
www.wkkf.org/pubs/YouthED/Pub564.pdf
At the Table:
Making the case for Youth in Decision-Making:
Research Highlights from a Study on the impacts of
Youth on Adults and Organizations by the
Innovation Center. Summary of key research findings
from the Youth in Decision-Making research
study (see following). Download at
www.theinnovationcenter.org
Beyond Resistance!
Youth Activism and Community Change edited by
Shawn Ginwright, Pedro Noguera, and Julio Cammarota.
Academics study the current implementations of Youth
Voice activities across the country and their
effects on communities, policy, and more. Order from
your local bookstore.
Building Community:
A Tool Kit for Youth and Adults in Charting Assets
and Creating Change by The Innovation Center.
This publication makes it possible for individuals
and groups everywhere to bring an inclusive,
asset-based approach to youth involvement in their
community. Filled with detailed information and case
studies, it gives users what they need to create
youth adult partnerships and lasting community
development. Order at
www.theinnovationcenter.org
Children and Young
People's Participation by Child Rights
Information Network. This issue of the CRIN
Newsletter reviews how far children and young
people's participation has progressed, through a
series of international overviews and thematic case
studies. The overviews present the state of youth
involvement around the world, examine key barriers
to effective participation and suggest specific
recommendations, based on experience, to improve
future practice. Case studies describe examples of
children's participation in a variety of contexts.
Download at
www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/crinvol16e.pdf
Children's
Participation in Sustainable Development by
Roger Hart. A new edition of Hart’s classic, this
book is a central text for anyone interested in
studying youth involvement in communities. It
introduces organizing principles, successful models,
practical techniques and resources for involving
children in a variety of social projects. Order at
www.earthscan.co.uk
Creating
Youth/Adult Partnerships by the Innovation
Center/ National 4-H Council. For those just
beginning to explore youth-adult partnerships as a
strategy for community and organization building,
this book offers a step-by-step tools to prepare
youth and adults to work as a team. Designed with
even the most novice trainer in mind, this
curriculum provides activities that challenge
preconceptions, explore benefits, assess readiness
and build trust to strengthen their work in
partnership. Order at
www.theinnovationcenter.org
The Declaration of
Accountability on the Ethical Engagement of Young
People and Adults in Canadian Organizations by
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of
Canada. This document shares a wide-ranging
perspective of youth involvement, calling for
organizations and communities to see beyond past
activities and to identify and practice powerful
ethical approaches to engaging youth. Despite the
reference to Canadian organizations, this document
is useful communities around the world. Download
from
www.fncaringsociety.com/projects/ethicalYouthEngagement.html
The Evolving
Capacities of the Child by Gerison Lansdown. The
principle behind recognizing the ‘evolving
capacities’ of the child recognizes that as young
people acquire enhanced competencies, there is a
diminishing need for protection and a greater
capacity to take responsibility for decisions
affecting their lives. The purpose of this
publication is to open the discussion and promote
debate to achieve a better understanding of how
children can be protected, in accordance with their
evolving capacities, and also provided with
opportunities to participate in the fulfillment of
their rights. A necessary read for all youth
involvement practitioners. Download at
www.unicef-icdc.org/publications/pdf/evolving-eng.pdf
Future 500: Youth
Organizing and Activism in the United States by
Jee Kim, Mathilda de Dios, Pablo Caraballo, et al.
This is the most comprehensive detailing of
youth-led organizing ever published. The book
details hundreds of organizations across the U.S.,
identifying them by location, issue-orientation, and
constituency. Order from your local bookstore.
Integrating Youth
Voice in Service Learning by the Education
Commission of the States’ Initiative. A brief
summary of the variety of ways Youth Voice can find
traction when young people combine community service
with state learning goals. Available online at
http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/23/67/2367.htm
Making Space/Making
Change: Profiles of Youth-Led and Youth-Driven
Organizations by the Young Wisdom Project of the
Movement Strategy Center. This publication is a
powerful tool highlighting the successes and
challenges of operating authentic Youth Voice
programs. There are in-depth features on six
programs across the nation, providing vital details
and tips. Download at
www.freechild.org/ReadingList/reviews/MSMC.htm
Maximum Youth
Involvement: The Complete Gameplan for Community
Change by Wendy Schaetzel Lesko. This manual
answers nearly 100 questions on how adults and
organizations can support young people as equal
partners and effective advocates in changing
community norms and policies plus a 40-page Appendix
with reproducible checklists and interactive
skill-building activities. Order from
www.youthactivismproject.org
Meaningful Student
Involvement Guide to Students as Partners in School
Change by Adam Fletcher. Provides a concise
introduction for educators on how to empower student
voice in schools by engaging students as
decision-makers, and more. Includes useful
theoretical models, practical considerations, and
valuable examples from across the United States.
Download at
www.soundout.org/MSIGuide.pdf
Measuring the
Magic: Evaluating and Researching Young People's
Participation in Public Decision-Making by
Perpetua Kirby. This report examines the different
ways in which involving young people in decision –
making could be measured and evaluated. It
recommends a number of different ways of effectively
evaluating work in a variety of settings. Download
at www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/files/2643_MeasuretheMagic_001.pdf
The Power of an
Untapped Resource: Exploring Youth Representation on
Your Board or Committee by the Youth Adult
Partnerships Project. This handbook was created by
Alaskan youth for boards or committees interested in
including young people. It lists basic criteria for
creating an effective board that includes youth
representation, including: how to prepare boards for
youth involvement; create a position; choose
representatives; address legal issues; recruit
youth; and educate youth members. Download at
www.aasb.org/PDF's/AASBPubs/HansB_bklt.pdf
Promoting
Children's Participation in Democratic
Decision-Making by Gerison Lansdown. Makes the
case for a commitment to respecting children's
rights to be heard and the need to consolidate and
learn from existing practice. It draws on much of
the already published research and thinking in the
field and on a wide range of international
initiatives. In so doing, it seeks to provide
practical guidance on the lessons learned to date in
working with children as partners. It is a
contribution to the development of tools for those
who see children 's rights to be heard as a means of
promoting and protecting their other rights.
Download at
www.asylumsupport.info/publications/unicef/democratic.pdf
Re-focusing the
Lens: Assessing the Challenge of Youth Involvement
in Public Policy by Phillip Haid, Elder C.
Marques and Jon Brown. This short paper explores
successful models of youth participation in policy
development and identifies barriers to meaningful
youth involvement in the policy process, based on
case studies. Download at
www.iog.ca/publications/lens.pdf
SoundOut Student
Voice Curriculum by Adam Fletcher. This is the
first collection of lesson plans for classroom
teachers focused on engaging student voice ever
published. Includes a variety of hands-on,
project-based activities that teach students about
learning, the education system, school reform, and
how students can be meaningfully involved in all
three! Order from
www.soundout.org
Taking the
Initiative: Promoting Young People's Involvement in
Public Decision Making: International Reports by
the Carnegie Young People Initiative. This report
provides insights into the policy and administrative
infrastructure that makes it possible for
governments to conceptualize and implement program
for young people. It underscores the importance of
youth participation in informing policy and
programming for young people. Countries featured in
the report are Barbados, Uganda, Lithuania,
Portugal, Denmark, South Africa and Germany.
Download at
www.carnegieuktrust.org.uk/cypi/publications/taking_the_initiative
Younger Voices,
Stronger Choices: Promise Project's Guide to Forming
Youth/Adult Partnerships by Michael McLarney and
Loring Leifer. An important primer on involving
youth in meaningful ways, co-written by a youth and
an adult. This is the foundational text for many
other books on youth involvement. Order from your
local bookstore.
Youth in
Decision-Making: A Study on The Impacts of Youth on
Adults and Organizations by Shepherd Zeldin,
Annette Kusgen-McDaniel, and Dimitri Topitzes. This
report discusses the impacts young people have on
adults and organizations when they are involved in
significant decision-making roles. It will be of
interest to policy-makers and practitioners, and
concludes by commenting on the conditions that are
needed to allow organizations to include more youth
in their decision-making processes. Order at
www.theinnovationcenter.org
Youth Participation and Community Change
edited by Barry Checkoway and Lorraine Gutierrez.
Academics and organizational leaders from across the
U.S. explore current research and action happening
in communities around the country. Includes a great
number of examples and wonderful descriptions from a
variety of programs. Order from your local
bookstore.
Youth Voices in
Community Design Handbook by the California
Center for Civic Engagement and Youth Development.
This is a spectacular, free how-to guide on getting
youth involved in local policy making and community
planning. The handbook provides a step-by-step guide
to Youth Voice and is supported by an extensive
online library of articles and activities. Download
at
www.youthvoicesoncommunitydesign.org/
Youth Voice: A
Guide for Engaging Youth in Leadership and
Decision-Making in Service-Learning Programs by
Jonna Justinianno and Cynthia Scherer. The purpose
of this guide is to provide service learning
practitioners with basic information on Youth Voice
- how to engage youth in leadership and
decision-making in programs. This guide highlights
what youth voice is, why it is important and models
of Youth Voice that have been implemented by service
learning practitioners. Download at
www.kidsforcommunity.org/pdf/tools/youthguide.pdf
