What's Youth Got To Do With It?

Photo: eddejesus.wordpress.com

Think about the last planning meeting you attended. Did you notice that practically everyone in the room was between the ages of 40 and 65? And that they were having the same conversation they had five years ago? Here’s an idea for moving the discussion forward—why not involve more young people? It’s not just that the next generation has to live with the decisions we make today, it’s that our decisions will be better for it.

I’ve heard many excuses for why younger generations are not part of the process. They don’t care. They’re hard to reach. The issues are too complex for them to understand. What do they know that we don’t? Funny…these excuses sound a lot like the ones people use for not making more of an effort to include other marginalized populations in a community.

These excuses don’t jibe with what I’m seeing on the ground in our partner communities. Take Biddeford, Maine where dozens of high school students are collecting stories about the city and facilitating conversations about the future of downtown. Or Damariscotta, Maine where students recently conducted a survey of their peers (with a whopping 74 percent response rate) that asked what students wanted to see downtown and how they wanted to be more involved in local decision making. The students’ effort has already led one local business owner, Jean Kerrigan of the Damariscotta River Grill, to offer up a prime location for an afternoon hang-out and will be working with youth to customize a menu.

I’m not talking about tokenizing young people here. Planning efforts often lead to choices that affect them just as much as middle-aged adults or senior citizens. Where we locate schools, create bike paths or encourage family housing all affect the lives of young people as much, if not more, than older residents. It seems only natural that their voices need to be heard in order for us to make these decisions more wisely.

From simple activities like Box City to comprehensive programs like Hampton Virginia’s Youth Commission, cities and towns are figuring out how to involve youth in meaningful ways. Interested in learning more? We’ll soon be posting a short guide with more examples of projects and links to other useful resources. Stay tuned...

Although empirical evidence is difficult to come by, here’s another interesting thing I’ve noticed: when younger people are in the room, adults tend to behave better. We know how difficult it can be to maintain civility when dealing with hot button community issues. Civility is even more important when addressing our differences and finding workable solutions. Could involving youth lead to more effective community dialogue and outcomes?