Young people make up an ever-growing part of the world’s population. As of 2014, the number of youth, ages 10-24, rose to nearly 1.8 billion. Almost 25 percent of the world population. As the number of youth grow, questions emerge about the role they will play in addressing the issues relevant to their future. Empowering youth to engage and take an active role in advocacy can play a critical role in societal change and improving human rights. Thus, organizations increasingly seek new ways to engage youth in civil society.

New Tactics in Human Rights hosted its online conversation, The Voice of Youth: How Youth Can Take on a Critical Role in Human Rights Advocacy. It discusses youth involvement in social change, addressing the challenges to their interests. It also talks about and the role of human rights organizations and practitioners in empowering youth.

Conversation Threads

Foundations of Youth Engagement 

The United Nations defines ‘youth’ as those persons between the ages of 15 to 24, but respects other definitions by Member States. Participants have put forward three principal elements to strengthen youth participation. Those are: capacity, motivation and opportunity. Capacity is the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors that youth need to take part effectively. Motivation is the desire or willingness of individual youth to participate. This includes committing to involvement or action over the longer term. Opportunity refers to any situation where youth can participate effectively.

It is important to facilitate youth driven actions. To do this activists can use tools like Global/Local Service-Learning. Or partner with grants and organizations like People To People International  (PTPI). Additionally, having youth forums is a good way to encourage youth engagement. Including youth in the decision making processes is very important. It empowers them to have a voice, and leverages their creativity and energy, to make change for the better.

Fostering Transformative Relationships between Peers, Mentors and Leaders

Encouraging peer mentoring partnerships is usefull to maintain youth engagement. Sharing difficulties with people who face the same struggles, allows participants to realize they are not alone. It also lets them learn from each other’s experiences. Having experienced mentors is also important. Mentors can open doors to opportunities or give crucial guidance about career decisions. They provide all forms of valuable insight.

Participants in the conversation recommend many ways to foster peer-partnerships. Methods like having a youth advisory council or youth philanthropy. Additionally, creating touch-points for those who had attended youth programs together. Participants also highlighted key factors that influence the level of youth participation. They pointed to sense of belonging, asense of safety and a welcoming environment. As well as having the opportunity to play an active role and taking on responsibilities. Finally, consistent and accessible activities or meetings are important to keep youth engaged.

Developing Leadership and Empowerment Among Youth

It is important to have programs offering “hard skills”. Skills like organizational management, social media marketing, social entrepreneurship, and finance management. Equally important is training in “soft skills”. Skills like communication, managing difficult conversations and interpersonal conflict. Organizations have to develop youth projects by defining youth’s ownership and responsibility. By giving them ownership and responsibility it motivates youth to engage. They can then make an impact in the decision making process.

Barriers to Youth Engagement and Moving Beyond them

There are many barriers to youth engagement. These include the feeling of hopelessness, a lack trust in understanding “real life” issues and apathy among adults. Participants also discussed the barriers like lack of knowledge on how to affect change and difficulty sustaining momentum and membership.

Participants discussed strategies to over come these barriers. Social media like Twitter and Facebook can be used heighten youth’s awareness and engagement with social causes. They also highlighted the importance for youth to be empowered with education and training. Additionally, it is crucial to build their self-esteem and let them make important decisions. Youth ideas need to be taken seriously too help overcome these barriers. Finally, including families and traditional or religious leaders is key for successful youth involvement.

Creating Spaces for Creativity in Youth Activism

Digital space is very useful for youth communication, to take action, and to provide visibility to youth’s work. It is important to empower youths to create their own space while providing tools to support the process.  Several methods to foster creativity and critical thinking were discussed by the participants. Including simulation exercises and reflection activities.

Tactical Examples Shared to Engage Youth

• Developing leadership skills for young people internationally – Generation Change
• Minneapolis Chapter of the Red Cross has a simulation exercise – RAIDcross to teach youth about International  Humanitarian Law
• Peer mentoring – in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, the Obuasi youth parliament makes recommendations to local government
• Youth clubs, advisory councils and programs – Breakthrough Twin Cities and Youthprise
• Youth for Change: Engagement of Youth for Social Change in Sindh Pakistan by Human Rights Alliance HRA Pakistan
• Global/Local Service-Learning
• Youth grants and philanthropy
• Youth Service Knowledge Center
• The Arts – GATE Summer leadership program incorporates activities using the UDHR and arts
• Sports – Ethiopia Skate
• Support from organizations like People to People International (PTPI)
• Annual global youth forums
• Cultural fairs
• Human rights initiatives:
  • “My rights” in Sohag, Egypt – aimed to raise awareness about the rights of young people and to promote the participation of young women in community life
  • “My Rights as a Human – Respecting Diversity and Accepting Others” in Aswan, Egypt  was to address the issue of intolerance that exists between the different ethnic groups in the area
  • “My Awareness will Ensure my Development” in Asyut, Egypt aimed to promote and increase youth participation in political processes.
  • Youth leaders conduct literacy classes for children 6 to 8 years old in 6 different schools in East Amman area “Astour”, Jordan.
  • “Madaba Through the Eyes of its Young People” aims to promote and increase youth participation in public life in Madaba, Jordan.
  •  Human rights education tool designed for civil society organizations (CSOs), youth leaders and organizations working with youth. They focus on issues of human rights and democratic participation in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan.
• “Spectrum of allies” is a tool to engage youth in thinking about who they should influence to make change on an issue that they care about. 
• Youth participation in local politics:
  • In Albania, youth were involved in drafting Youth Priorities and preparing a Social Contract for local government. This allowed youth to influence local politics.
  • In Maroua, university students and other youth participated in citizen consultations, and human rights clubs. They planned local budgets and participated in conferences, working towards influencing local politics.
• Youth participation in decision-making in local organizations and projects:
  • In the Association for the Development of the Koumantou Commune, youth were given the same responsibilities as adults. This way their voice could hold equal weight.
  • In the Sela foundation youth are involved in deciding the strategic directions of the organization. This allows for youth ownership and responsibility with commitment.
• Radio programs:
  • In the Young Reporters Network in Moshi-Tanzania, youth were involved in decision making in all levels of the process. They began by identifying issues, researching, planning, delivering and evaluating radio programs.
  • In Senegal, in the Clubs Radios Citoyennes (CRC), youth have the opportunity to discuss issues important to them. Through radio programs they talk with local leaders, ensuring that their voices are heard. 
• Participation of young women: Young women, Young Leaders (YWYL) is an Equitas program. It aims to strengthen the participation of young women in civic, political and community life in Montreal.
• In 2014 Equitas addressed youth participation in international human rights training programs. They held a session called Barriers to Youth Participation with participants from 50 countries. They discussed the barriers youth face to being a part of decision-making and strategies to address them.