Outcomes
Centering youth voices and driving prevention efforts through intergenerational partnerships lead to widening impacts for youth, adults, and the community.
“The system isn't working... How can we change the culture to impact the system?...There needs to be culture change and the reflection of the way the youth are integrated into [project] cultures.”
(Working Group Participant)
Intergenerational Culture Shift
- Sense of belonging (for youth and adults)
- Connectedness among generations, cultures, and groups
- Increased diversity, synergies, and capacity of youth-adult partnership towards pressing challenges
Youth are Engaged and Their Voices have Influence
- Adopt an emergent approach, weaving flexibility throughout project phases
- Keep an open mind to how youth could be engaged
- Put yourselves in the shoes of a youth; their interests, passions, and priorities might be different than adults
Better Aligned Solutions that Address Problems
- Improved understanding of lived realities and problems facing young people
- Improved decision-making and implementations around youth needs
“Communities are better when everyone is engaged.”
(Working Group Participant)
Mutually Reinforcing Process and Outcomes
Youth engagement in Youth Shift is nonlinear, wrapping around and winding through prevention phases. In part, this is to reflect how youth engagement can initiate or deepen at any point in a prevention effort. Once youth engagement becomes a cornerstone of prevention, process and outcomes reinforce and amplify youth contribution. Like an upward spiral, removing barriers, opening doors, and building capacity for youth to be engaged shifts the current of a project to strengthen intergenerational partnerships and nurture meaningful, sustained youth engagement.
Jump to other Key Sections of Youth Shift
More on Outcomes created from youth engagement can be found in the Youth Shift download!
Download the Full Youth Shift Framework and Guide