Youth council
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Youth councils are an form of youth voice engaged in community decision-making. Youth councils exist on local, state, provincial, regional, national, and international levels among governments, NGOs, schools, and other entities.
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[edit] About
The history of youth councils extends back to the early twentieth century, when communists and Nazis formed youth-led decision-making bodies for the purpose of propaganization and recruitment. Youth councils have seen a resurgence in Western Europe under the advisement of the European Youth Forum; in the United States and Canada organizations such as The Freechild Project and Points of Light Foundation have been instrumental. Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is also widely credited with promoting youth councils.[1]
Youth councils have many purposes. Many are consultative bodies for more representative political bodies at all levels of government. The extent to which they have been established at all levels varies, as the United States, Canada, Western and Northern Europe have all seen a proliferation of these bodies. How they are composed varies, with some youth councils being elected by young people in the community, while others are handpicked by political officials or elected by youth NGOs.
[edit] Examples of youth councils
[edit] Europe
The Council of Europe also funds the European Youth Forum as an Advisory Council, which is part of a co-decision structure on the Youth field in the Council of Europe.
[edit] Middle East
In Israel, There is a National Youth Council, whose members are elected from 7 Regional Youth Councils, which are elected from Municipal councils, formed from representatives of School Student Councils and Youth Movements.
[edit] North America
In the United States and Canada, youth councils have been formed by nonprofit organizations and at all levels of government. Many cities, including Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, and Seattle, have active youth councils that inform city government decision-making. For instance, the Los Angeles Youth Council is sponsored by the Commission for Children Youth and their Families. Prior to being established as a program of this commission, it was operated as Mayor Tom Bradley's Youth Advisory Board. This Youth Council is currently working on creating a citywide Youth Policy. Several state-level government agencies and legislatures have created youth councils, including Washington, Maine, New Mexico, and New Hampshire. Maine's council was the first statewide youth council created in the US, and the others were created soon after that.
In the United States there are several forms of youth councils. They include youth advisory councils, which provide input and feedback regarding adult-driven decision-making; youth research councils that are responsible for assessment and evaluation of youth and community programs, and; youth action councils which are designed to either be youth/adult partnerships or youth-led activities that are youth-driven and generally, youth-focused.
[edit] Related articles
[edit] External links
- Washington Youth Voice Directory The Freechild Project (2005).
- Youth as City Leaders. A listing of youth councils across the US compiled by the National League of Cities.
- Youth in Policy Processes - TakingITGlobal Voice
- Global Youth Action Network
- Examples of Youth Councils on The Freechild Project website.
- At The Table - Youth in Decision-Making
[edit] References
- ^ Lansdown, G. (2005) The Evolving Capacities of the Child. UNICEF.
