New report on young people in governance

In October a report on young people's participation in the governance of charities and non-profits in England, called Young People in Governance, was published by the consulting firm nfpSynergy. The report's authors interviewed 15 representatives of small, medium and large charities and organizations that work with children and young people to identify the challenges to youth participation in governance and the strategies these organizations have used to address the challenges. The report includes a discussion of the most common objections to youth participation and the myths and misconceptions on which many of these objections are based, a section on the benefits of involving young people and a section on solutions to the challenges. The report also contains a table comparing practices that can lead to tokenistic involvement with corresponding practices more likely to lead to meaningful participation.

The section on challenges, myths and misconceptions will be especially helpful to those seeking to overcome resistance to engaging young people in meaningful ways.