Exercise Youth Friendly Services

1
Exercise Youth Friendly Services

• Group 1 Right to Information
• Group 2 Client right to Informed Choice
• Group 3 Client right to dignity, Comfort, and
  Expression of Opinion
• Group 4 Staff Need for Information, Training
  and Development
• Go through the questions with respect to your
  project and/or the facilities providing services
  to youth in your countries
• How youth friendly are the services
• What are the greatest challenges?
• What might your project do to help address the
  challenges?

2
Youth-Adult Partnership
3
Session objectives

• Be the end of the session, we will have
• Described youth Adult Partnership
• Discussed the benefits and challenges that result
  from youth adult partnership
• Discussed and agreed on measures to improve youth
  Adult partnership

4
Brainstorming

• What are the characteristics of young people e.g.
  10 -24 different from adults 25 and above?
• What are the challenges you face when working
  with young people?

5
Facts

• Young people are different from adults thus have
  different thinking, needs, levels of knowledge,
  attitudes and skills/practices, among others.
• But we also do agree that they need assistance so
  that they can understand and appreciate who they
  are, where they are going in life and how they
  would get where they want to go.

6
Definitions

• Youth-Adult Partnership is one that
• Integrates youths realistic perspectives and
  skills with professional adults experience and
  wisdom
• Offers each party the opportunity to make
  suggestions and decisions
• Recognizes and values the contribution of each
• Allows youth and adults to work in full
  partnership envisioning, developing,
  implementing, and evaluating programs

7
Definitions

• Youth-Adult Partnerships are NOT ways to hide the
  fact that programs are designed, developed, and
  run by adults.
• Tokenism is not partnership. Examples of
  tokenism
• Having youth present but with no clear role
• Assigning to youth tasks that adults do not want
  to do
• Having youth make appearances without training
• Having only one youth on a board or council

8
Spectrum of Attitudes

• Youth as Objects
• Adults know what is best for young people
  and control situations in which they allow youth
  to be involved

9
Spectrum of Attitudes

• Youth as Recipients
• Adults allow young people to take part in
  decision-making because they think the experience
  will be good for them

10
Spectrum of Attitudes

• Youth as Partners!
• Adults respect young people as having
  something significant to offer, recognizing the
  greater impact youth bring to a project. Youth
  are encouraged to become involved

11
Levels of Youth Participation

• Degrees of participation (from highest to lowest)
• Youth- initiated, shared decisions with adults
• Youth-initiated and directed
• Adult-initiated, shared decisions with youth
• Consulted and informed
• Assigned but informed

12
Levels of Youth Non-Participation

• Tokenism
• Decoration
• Manipulation

13
Youth participation A case of Ma-PLAY
14
Benefits, Barriers and Challenges, and Strategies

• What are the BENEFITS of using a youth-adult
  partnership approach to our work?
• What are the BARRIERS and CHALLENGES to such an
  approach?
• Looking at the barriers and challenges, what
  STRATEGIES are needed for effective youth-adult
  partnerships?

15
Benefits of partnering with youth

• Involving youth from the start can enhance a
  sense of ownership in the program/ project
• Youth in-puts help to ensure that programs are
  relevant to their needs
• Youth can help identify messages, communication
  channels and activities popular in their
  sub-cultures.
• Youth can bring new and vital ideas to programs,
  along with high energy to carry out set tasks.

16
Benefits of partnering with youth contd

• Young people can effectively publicise programs
  activities and help interest their peers in
  becoming program participants.
• Youth spokespersons can give credibility to the
  program and serve as an outreach link to the
  community
• Training and experience as peer educators enhance
  skills, self-esteem and leadership potential
  among those involved youth.
• Involving youth in present activities is an
  investment in the future.

17
Barriers and challenges

• Youth involved in program decision making runs
  counter to most professional experience. Adults
  have many biases and fears about working with
  youth.
• Involving youth in programs mostly requires
  additional training, staff time and costs
• Involving youth requires adjusting schedules to
  meet young peoples needs.
• High turnover of young people causes
  discontinuities and added costs.

18
Youth Adult Partnerships Effective Elements

• Establish clear goals
• Share decision-making power
• Get commitment from highest level
• Be clear on roles and responsibilities
• Be selective in recruitment

19
YAP Effective Elements (contd.)

• Provide training
• Be aware of different communication
  styles
• Value participation
• Include room for growth
• Remember youth have other interests

20
Tips for Working with Youth

• Be open and nonjudgmental
• Take advantage of expertise
• Make sure youth participate in meaningful ways
• Be honest about expectations
• Accommodate youth schedules

21
Tips for Working with Youth (contd.)

• Treat youth as individuals
• Make the work fun
• Avoid intimidating youth
• Avoid assumptions about all youth
• Youth have the right to say No

22
Tips for Working with Adults

• Most have good intentions
• Criticism does not mean condescension
• Adults may not be aware of the capabilities of
  youth
• Adults often feel responsible for the success or
  failure of the project

23
Tips for Working with Adults (contd.)

• Adults may be just as uncertain as youth and hide
  it better
• Call adults on when they use condescending
  language
• Do not be afraid to ask for clarifications
• Do not be afraid to say No because of other
  commitments

24
Goals for Youth Involvement Not Just Youth
Friendly

• Value youth-adult partnerships in reproductive
  health programs and policies affecting youth
• Integrate youth-adult partnerships into their
  reproductive health program and policy work

25
Measures for improvement

• Meaningful participation i.e. involving young
  people in designing, implementation, evaluation
  of programs, projects, activities and services
• Consider youth as equal partners when coming up
  with interventions targeting them