Common concerns
Young people may understand the benefits of getting involved, but it can be hard to actually get that involvement up and running.
This page looks at some of the most common barriers people face when trying to promote young people’s participation and projects in an organisation.
“Young people aren’t interested or they’d already be involved.”
If you’ve tried to get young people involved without much success, don’t just assume that it’s because they’re not interested: some will be, some won’t. Using these questions as a starting point might help you find possible solutions.
- Organisations can be big and put off outsiders. How can you make yours more accessible and welcoming to young people?
- Is there an obvious person for young people to go to, or will they be passed around the organisation?
- Are young people clear about what you’re doing?
- Are there opportunities especially for young people or are they just invited to join in with the adults?
- Are you just offering one way for young people to get involved? Is it possible to think of other ways for them to get involved?
“Involving young people takes too much time and costs too much money.”
Getting young people involved successfully can be time-consuming, but that’s no reason not to do it.
Remember some of the following pointers:
- Involve young people in the earliest stages of planning.
- Start slowly, proceed carefully and learn from experimental pilot projects.
- Take time and ensure that the relevant resources (like time and money) are available.
- Think about what existing resources you can use.
- Do all you can to create the changes in attitudes, behaviour and power you’ll need to get projects going.
We think that the benefits you’ll see (socially, economically and personally) will be worth it!
”Young people are not capable of making decisions.”
Adults sometimes find it hard to accept that young people have the knowledge or ability to make important decisions in life.
Some people think that young people won’t understand the complex issues involved.
The truth is that young people actually make decisions in much the same way as adults.
The use their own experiences, what they already know, available information and advice and, importantly, the ability to choose or decide.
The ability to choose and decide is a developing one, and some young people will require more support than others to communicate their views or make informed decisions.
But this can also be the case with adults.
Remember: Ask young people how you can assist them better. Then take their recommendations seriously.
“We don’t need to ask them. We already know what young people want.”
Adults can often think they know best. As a consequence, they can sometimes assume that they know what young people want and know what’s best for them.
Young people sometimes share the same interests and concerns as adults, but they usually approach those issues in very different ways.
Adults shouldn’t assume they know what young people want. Young people have a right to express their views on anything that affects them and for those views to be listened to.
It may be that adults feel a little threatened because they’re losing some control or power.
It’s important that you know about any negative assumptions and stereotypes about young people in your project so you can move towards sharing real authority with them.
Remember: Like young people, adults may also need training and support to make participation work.
“I don’t know how to work with young people.”
Despite being eager to work with young people, adults can get a little nervous once it acutally comes to the crunch.
They sometimes feel they don’t have the right skills or knowledge to work with young people.
Adults do sometimes need ongoing training in order to work on youth projects. This should be seen as a positive rather than a negative for adults because it gives them the chance to develop their existing knowledge of young people and learn new skills.
Remember: It’s crucial to get a commitment to young people’s participation from staff members at all levels if it’s to be a long term success.