How To Start A Youth Civic Engagement Program

Before launching something new, its important to understanding how to start a youth program. For the last 20 years, I’ve been teaching youth and adults how to do this, and to help get you going I want to share a simple process. Here are five steps every organization and individual should take to start a youth civic engagement program.

1. Listen To Youth.

Young people know what they want from our communities and our society better than anyone else. They might not know how to get it, where it is at or whether they actually need what they want, but they know what they want better than any adult could ever guess. Big businesses spend a lot of money finding out what that is, but luckily you do not have to. Instead, sit down with a few of the youth you want to serve with a program. Ask them about their visions, thoughts, ideas, plans, hopes, dreams and challenges. Listen carefully to what they say, take notes, and ask follow-up questions. Your job here is to make space for their words—aka youth voice—to fill the room, and for you to simply listen.

2. Read the Room.

Find data online about civic engagement, talk with parents, teachers, other community members, and read the news. Explore what affects youth in their community, what motivates them, what hurts them and what empowers them. Be skeptical of any extreme claim made about youth by adults. Sift through hyperbole and condescension and get to the heart of the matter. See past the biases a lot of people have against young people and civic engagement. After you’ve done that, state the civic engagement problem your youth program wants to solve, and state it clearly.

3. Make a Plan.

Don’t simply start a youth civic engagement program. Instead, consider the research you’ve done, identify different ways of getting things done, look for community partners, and then make a plan. In your plan, name the civic engagement activity you want to do, think about the process for getting it done, and label the outcomes you want to see. It will help if you make SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Consider more than one way to get each goal met, and figure out how you’re going to get to those goals. You should also plan for the resources you need, whether its the specific young people you want to serve, a place to meet, the time to have the activity, the tools you’ll need for the program, and any money required to operate it. If you have a hard time finding any of these, go back to Step 2 and read the room. Ask yourself and youth whether your civic engagement activity is really needed, and if it is, look again!

4. Start Anywhere.

Whether or not you’ve done any of the three previous steps, the most important thing you can do is to simply get going. All youth civic engagement is needed everywhere, all of the time. Start anywhere and go everywhere. Any civic engagement program is better than no program! Young people, our communities and the world needs more than just another good idea—it requires real action and real outcomes that really affect the most pressing, challenging, problematic and painful problems our world faces right now. Start anywhere and just do something!

5. Keep Going.

Youth civic engagement programs are hard for a lot of reasons. They require youth engagement, money, time, energy, and so much more. But the last thing young people need is just another drop in the bucket that comes and goes in their lives. Youth civic engagement programs should keep going, especially if they’re working. Whether they are designed to last a day or a lifetime, civic engagement programs that teach young people about economics, the environment, mental health, social change or any of literally hundreds of other issues and actions are absolutely essential to the health and well-being of young people, our communities and the world. Keep going! And don’t let anyone drag down your efforts…

These five steps offer a simple, easy way to get a youth program started. What would you add to this process? I’d love to see your thoughts, ideas and feedback in the comments!

Progressive Teachers Network