Youth voice refers to the distinct ideas, opinions,

attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...

knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...

, and

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

s of

young people Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

as a collective body. The term youth voice often groups together a diversity of perspectives and experiences, regardless of backgrounds, identities, and cultural differences. It is frequently associated with the successful application of a variety of

youth development Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. ''Youth.gov'' states that "PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, ...

activities, including

service learning Service-learning is an educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service in order to provide a pragmatic, progressive learning experience while meeting societal needs. Service-learning involves students in service proje ...

, youth research, and leadership training. Additional research has shown that engaging youth voice is an essential element of effective organizational development among community and youth-serving organizations.

Applications

Many

youth organizations The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

and community activities cite youth voice as an important factor to their successful operations. Many organizations, for example, consult young people when developing programs, products, or services designed for young people, or ensure that young people serve on decision making boards. In addition, youth serving organizations often provide opportunities and platforms to elevate youth voice--inviting young program participants to share their perspectives on institutional websites or social media channels. The field of

positive youth development Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. ''Youth.gov'' states that "PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, ...

also promotes youth voice by striving to inspire confidence and social engagement for young people. Examples of

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

-oriented youth voice efforts include the VicSRC, an Australian student voice organization. Other examples include: * Youth service *

Community youth development Community Youth Development (CYD) is a philosophy emphasizing the symbiotic nature of youth development to community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collec ...

Youth activism Youth activism is the participation in community organizing for social change by persons between the ages of 15–24. Youth activism has led to a shift in political participation and activism. A notable shift within youth activism is the rise of ...

Peer education Peer education is an approach to health promotion, in which community members are supported to promote health-enhancing change among their peers. Peer education is the teaching or sharing of health information, values and behavior in educating othe ...

Youth-led media Youth-led media is any effort created, planned, implemented, and reflected upon by young people in the form of media, including websites, newspapers, television shows and publications. Movement These efforts form the basis of an international move ...

Youth leadership Youth leadership is the practice of teens exercising authority over themselves or others. Youth leadership has been elaborated upon as a theory of youth development in which young people gain skills and knowledge necessary to lead civic engageme ...

Movement

A broad international movement exists to promote youth voice, born from earlier youth service and

youth rights The youth rights movement (also known as youth liberation) seeks to grant the rights to young people that are traditionally reserved for adults, due to having reached a specific age or sufficient maturity. This is closely akin to the notion ...

movements. The United Nations

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Con ...

was the first international mechanism to stipulate the systemic engagement of youth voice. Specific aims are stated in Articles 5 and 12 that clearly acknowledge the youth have a voice, that youth voice is constantly changing, and that all areas of our society are morally responsible for engaging youth voice. Annual events which center on youth voice include

Global Youth Service Day Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), originally launched and known as National Youth Service Day in the United States, is a coordinated annual event which voluntary gathers young people around the world in conducting community service, service learni ...

and the

National Service Learning Conference The National Service-Learning Conference was first held in 1988 to serve as "the largest gathering of youth and practitioners from the service-learning movement" of the United States. The conference is a program of the National Youth Leadership C ...

Criticism

Ephebiphobia Ephebiphobia is the fear of youth. First coined as the "fear or loathing of teenagers",Astroth, K. (1994) Beyond ephebiphobia: problem adults or problem youths? (fear of adolescents). ''Phi Delta Kappan''. January 1, 1994. today the phenomenon ...

and adultism have been identified as the factors preventing widespread recognition of youth voice throughout communities. Additionally, it is commonly acknowledged that "little quantitative research has been conducted regarding the issue of youth voice", while the qualitative research on youth voice is often seen as minimally effective, as well, due to a limited scope focused on

youth participation ''Youth participation'' is the active engagement of young people throughout their own communities. It is often used as a shorthand for youth participation in any many forms, including decision-making, sports, schools and any activity where young p ...

in decision-making and opinion-sharing. Other common pitfalls associated with youth voice are

tokenism Tokenism is the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to be inclusive to members of minority groups, especially by recruiting people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of racial or gender equality wit ...

and unethical storytelling practices that use the voices, ideas, and stories of young people in exploitative ways. Though not focused specifically on youth voice
Hart's Ladder of Participation
provides an illustration of youth engagement—from the bottom rung of "manipulation" to the top rung where "decision making is shared between youth and adults working as equal partners." Youth voice also faces criticism from the youth rights movement that it does not go far enough, or that it is using youth. Critics claim that youth voice advocates only advance a shallow analysis of

ageism Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler defi ...

and propose solutions that do not go far enough to give youth any substantive power in society. Coupled with youth service this can lead to young people being pressured to help fix adult problems without ever addressing the problems youth face.Koroknay-Palicz, Alex
"A Critique of the Youth Service Movement"
. eblog entry.One and Four. 14 Feb 2006. 4 Feb 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Youth Voice

Voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production in ...

Ageism Community building Philosophy of education

Applications

Movement

Criticism

See also

References