We have developed a prosocial approach that engages youth in productive and constructive ways within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, and families; recognizes, utilizes, and enhances young people’s strengths; and promotes positive outcomes for young people by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships, and furnishing the support needed to build on their leadership strengths.
The Four Degrees of Youth Engagement. The degree of youth engagement depends on the context and the nature of the work undertaken within a project or program. One degree may be more applicable than the others.
Youth are consulted for ideas and perspectives on the project or program or its specific dimension.
Youth contribute in a limited role to a program or a project, notably to the planning, implementation, or follow-up of a specific task/dimension within.
Youth are engaged in an active partnership and an open dialogue with PEP Africa in all stages of strategic decision-making, initiative planning, implementation, and evaluation
Youth are responsible for all segments of PEP Africa’s project or program, from initiation through to planning and implementation, as well as monitoring and evaluation.
The above enables youth to influence the process and outcomes without having direct control.
The above enables youth to influence processes and outcomes without having direct control.
Note that youth consultation can be considered a type of youth contribution. However, the latter cannot be reduced to consultation only and can include other types of contributions by young people, such as designing or implementing a specific aspect of a project or program.
Partnership enables youth to influence, challenge, and engage with both the process and the outcome.
Note that all initiatives or activities in which youth are the beneficiaries or that primarily concern youth should aim to involve youth as partners/leaders in the process to avoid tokenism or manipulation.
Youth identify the issues of concern and control the process and outcomes. Note that the Agency is a facilitator, enabling youth to pursue their goals within programmatic objectives.
To do this, the Agency can give advice and backstop, provide spaces, give information, reinforce capacities, or establish links with other stakeholders.
