The main goal of civil society organizations is to positively impact people, especially young people. Or as it says in YMCA’s mission statement, we want to create communities where young people are empowered and can thrive to build a just, sustainable, equitable and inclusive world (YMCA, 2022).
Now imagine that we had already reached this vision fully.
- What would your organization look like if youth had all necessary resources, tools and trust to be active leaders and decision makers at all levels?
- How would a natural, normalized inclusion of young people differ from the state of art today?
- What impact would a CSO that fully embraces youth create in society?
The issue of youth inclusion is not exclusive to civil society organizations but starts in the public decision making.
An example is the representation of young people in parliaments. Even though almost half of the world’s population is under 30 years, they make up only 2,64% of parliamentarians globally (IPU, 2022).
It is despite or maybe because of these numbers that CSOs strive to take the lead as change makers and to set an example with their own practices which is also represented in YMCA’s main principles of governance.
According to these principles good governance includes, amongst others “a division of power, representation and inclusiveness, succession and youth empowerment” (YMCA, 2022). With time different members of the movement and of other CSOs developed practices, policies and tools on how to best realize the goal of youth inclusion and it is crucial that they are formalized, exchanged, tested and revised to ensure the best possible service.
Internal Youth Policy
Generally speaking, a youth policy contains the following elements:
- Mission/Vision
- Definition of key words such as youth, adolescents, and children; or empowerment, participation, and inclusion as these terms can sometimes vary between organizations or countries
- Principles of youth participation
- Key pillars and overarching approaches to the implementation
- Specific objectives of the youth policy
- Guidelines/policies with measurable SMART Goals
Furthermore, a youth policy typically touches on aspects like leadership training, succession, mentorship, intergenerational dialogue and specific structures of youth representation in the internal governance.
Some great examples for reference are the following youth policies:
- World Scout Youth Involvement Policy (2015)
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Youth Policy (2018)
- YMCA Peru Youth Empowerment Policy (2013) (Original version in Spanish, machine translated version in English)
- YMCA Australia Principle and Practice Statement: Youth Voice
Youth Empowerment Models
According to the Youth Involvement of the Scouts, Youth Empowerment can be defined as “the attitudinal, structural and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including young people and adults.” (Scouts, 2015)
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies defines the term slightly differently and refers to youth empowerment as “youth-led action and youth development which speaks to active and meaningful participation of youth and inclusion of their voice in the humanitarian work across governance, management, programmes and service delivery. It also recognises three interconnecting and fluid pathways of engagement: youth as leaders, youth as volunteers, and youth as members of affected communities. As an approach, it goes beyond a symbolic inclusion and is practiced through equal partnership in both the intergenerational co-operation and peer contexts.” (IFRC, 2018)
Whereas the Scouts lay a strong focus on the agency of young people as the core of youth empowerment, the IFRC differentiates between the different types of youth empowerment for young people. There are many existing models that explain how youth empowerment can be measured and reached:
Models for youth empowerment:
- YMCA Peru Youth Empowerment Model (Spanish Original) (2019) Machine translated version in English
- From Tokenism to Citizenship -The Ladder of Participation (Roger Hart)
- Article about the Ladder of Participation specifically relating to Youth (Anamarija Velinovska)
- The Youth Action Spiral (Adam Fletcher, 2013)
- Participation Models – Citizens, Youth, Online. A chase through the maze (Creative Commons, 2011) including the Concept of Youth Empowerment (Clare Lardner)
- Participation in Urban Climate Protection. (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, 2011) including the Concept of Youth Empowerment (Clare Lardner)
Youth Empowerment in YMCA Europe
In addition to these models YMCA Europe has developed some practices on its own to strengthen the position of youth within their governance structures and activities.
Within the “Youth Policy Group”, young people have the chance to, amongst others, represent the YMCA on the European level.
The group is a special youth-led body which shapes and builds the Advocacy work of the organization. Its main task is to form and present positions on behalf of YMCA and to write papers on policies and topics.
To do so, the members consult and connect with programme groups and representatives within the Movement, as well as with external stakeholders on the national, European, regional, and international level. The group seeks to align with the YMCA Europe Strategy and reports to the Executive Committee and Staff Team whenever required.
In certain situations the Youth Policy Group can also have an advisory function in YMCA’s governance, for example when developing internal policies on topics the group has expertise about.
Another element of youth empowerment in YMCA’s practice is the “Youth Empowerment Space”.
This is a natural space for networking between young volunteers and participants involved in programmes and activities at the European level.
People can meet and communicate within the network to coordinate joint initiatives or exchange best practices.
One of the signature programmes YMCA has developed in this space is the “Leadership Academy”. This is a training program focused on providing young people with the tools to actively participate and take leadership in their organizations and environments. Having some form of capacity-building for youth is crucial as the first step of a “succession ecosystem” (s. Organic Governance in CSOs). At the moment we are working on the further development of the training programme as we go into another round of participants next year.
The Youth Empowerment Space and the Youth Policy Group are put into a new context now as well, since we are revising our Youth Empowerment and Advocacy Strategy to align it with the newly adopted Vision 2030 of the World Alliance of YMCAs.
Lastly, it is crucial that CSOs follow a bottom-up approach, especially when they are functioning as an umbrella organization of a wider movement with independent member organizations.
The main function of YMCA Europe as an umbrella organization is to directly serve their national members. We therefore seek to include youth not only on the European level but starting from the local and national level first.
To conclude, it can be said that no youth policy or model of youth empowerment can be adapted directly to every context. This article aspires to give an overview of some best practices and frameworks to support you in strengthening youth empowerment in the governance structures of your CSO and based on your specific needs. Please see the references below for further context on the models and policies mentioned.
The material is created within the project “Organic Governance and Quality Development” supported by Erasmus+, Key Action 2 programme.
Movement Strengthening in YMCA Europe is aimed at building the capacity of organizations in different spheres including governance, internal policies, quality standards and strategic planning.
List of References
- Creative Commons. (2011). Participation Models. Citizens, Youth, Online. A chase through the maze.
- Fletcher, F.C. Adam. (2022). The Youth Action Spiral.
- Hart. A. Roger. (1992). Children’s Participation. From Tokenism to Citizenship. United Nations Children’s Fund.
- Heinrich Böll Stiftung. (2011). Participation in Urbane Climate Protection. Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Brandenburg e.V. DG Education and Culture. Europe for Citizens Programme. h
- IFRC. (2018). Youth Policy. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. https://www.ifrc.org/document/youth-policy
- IPU. (2022). Data on age: Global and regional averages. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Parline.
- Lukina, Olga. (2022). Good Governance Brief. YMCA Europe. Good Governance Brief
- Scouts. (2015). World Scout Youth Involvement Policy. World Scout Bureau Inc.
- YMCA. (2019). Modelo de Empoderamiento Juvenil (MEJ). Asociación Cristiana de Jovenes del Peru. English version
- YMCA. (2019). Modelo de Empoderamiento Juvenil (MEJ). Asociación Cristiana de Jovenes del Peru. Spanish Version
- Konecna, Zuzana. (2022). Organic Governance in CIvil Society Organization. YMCA Slovakia.Organic Governance
- Velinovska, Anamarija. (2020). Ladder of Youth Participation. Trainers Library.
- Situation of young people in the European Union. European Commission staff working document
- YMCA. (2013). Política de empoderamiento juvenil. Asociación Cristiana de Jovenes del Peru. Version in English.
- YMCA. (2013). Política de empoderamiento juvenil. Asociación Cristiana de Jovenes del Peru. Spanish Version.
- YMCA. Principle and Practice Statement: Youth Voice. YMCA Australia.
- YMCA. (2022). Vision 2030. World YMCA.