Innovation and the voice of young people
It is a truism that we all have an interest in the future, but seem powerless to alter the present. In the tricky matter of energy consumption we increasingly place our trust in finding technological innovations to meet our stubbornly high demands in the West and the expansion of those demands among developing nations.
Adults are repentant but gripped by inertia. Young people are not only the future but also the hope of survival. We have consigned to our inheritors a legacy of 'change, innovate or perish.' No pressure then.
The issue of climate change illustrates the cultural and moral imperative on us to involve young people in decision-making that will affect their lives. In many arenas - education, social and community policy, leisure and arts provision, such involvement is characterised by the term 'voice' – student voice, the voice of the consumer/end user, the voice of young people. If we expect young people to acquire skills and knowledge to save us as a species, it is not only reasonable but a moral imperative to involve them in the planning and delivery of learning and to listen to their opinions and ideas.
It is self-evident that adults do not have all the answers and do not know it all, or we wouldn't have got ourselves into this mess in the first place. Being able to acknowledge our vulnerabilities as adults, helps create a positive learning environment for all. This is before we even engage in the question of content. We can all benefit by learning through shared investigation and enquiry. Adults merely have a greater mass of experience, resources or signposts to guide young minds into new fields of knowledge.
So much for the principle; what are the lessons of best practice in consultation or shared decision-making? The advice from the youth arts sector is exemplary: don't pay lip service, under-resource the process, make assumptions, over promise or under-deliver, underestimate capability, impose adult structures or rush it; do set outcomes that are real, explain the boundaries, purpose and what the consultation is for. In any consultation or shared decision-making with young people, it is worth asking, 'who speaks first, who speaks the most, and who has the last word?'
This has particular relevance with the recent announcement of 10 pilot programmes to define the cultural offer for young people. They could do well to examine the outcomes of funding programmes such as No Strings Attached, a scheme from Arts Council South East which provides support for young writers with minimal conditions on the grants they give. Oh, and young people on governing bodies anyone? Arts and Business has some useful models; 20% of Ignite!'s board of directors are under 25.
For further information and case studies check out Roger Hart's Ladder of Young People's Participation and the campaign for consultation by ENYAN.
About the author
Rick Hall is Director of Programmes for Ignite!
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Comments on this article
Added: 09/07/2008 10:45pm
Margaret Wright
Could not agree more. My experience of young people and their thoughts and ideas on the subject of the future and what needs to happen now has been very positive and they have so much to offer. This article is great and the links are good too. Many thanks for this.