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.

Young Victorian of the Year says Australia driven by a "culture of tokenism when it comes to youth participation"

Tom Woodroofe, named the Young Victorian of the Year today for his work encouraging youth participation in politics, writes in the July 2 The Age:

Ironically, since the International Year of Youth in 1985, Australia has been increasingly driven by a culture of tokenism when it comes to youth participation. That year, young people went from being teenagers or adults participating in society as individuals, to being part of a social category that labelled them until they turned 25.

From this came pressure for corporations and government to be seen to be engaging with young people. Tokenistic programs popped up everywhere designed to tick off flashy corporate social responsibility strategies or to fill pages of glossy annual reports with young smiling faces.

But the result has rarely been meaningful participation.

Woodroofe argues that the effectiveness of efforts to engage young people can't be measured by the number of youth engaged, but by the extent to which their involvement leads to actual change. He plans to spend his year in the spotlight not only encouraging more young people to be involved in their communities, but to "refocus youth engagement towards helping young people discover their passions and create change."

Young people don't speak with one voice