- Youth council
Youth councils are a 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.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 asThe Freechild Project andPoints of Light Foundation have been instrumental. Article 12 of theConvention on the Rights of the Child is also widely credited with promoting youth councils. [Lansdown, G. (2005) "The Evolving Capacities of the Child." UNICEF.]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 andNorthern 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.Examples of youth councils
Europe
In Europe there is a consolidated tradition of representative youth platforms at Pan-regional, National and local level.
At European level the
European Youth Forum constitutes the platforms which gathers more than 93 National Youth Council and International Non-Governmental Youth Organizations. It's a non-governmental structure which serves its members and applies the principles of democratic representation, transparency through its internal democratic system (election of the board and the president).At the Institutional level, the Council of Europe has a specific co-managed system to run its youth sector. Governmental and non-Governmental representative co-decide upon the priorities of the youth program of the institution and they also co-manage the activities which are run in two youth centres in Strasbourg and Budapest. The Youth Constituency is called "
Advisory Council on Youth " (AC) beside the co-decision mechanism internal to the Directorate for Youth and Sport has the possibility to advise the Institution on any matter which affect young people and which is tackled by Council of Europe.At National level there are National Youth Councils which are similar structures to the European Youth Forum and often there are regional and local council which adopts various kind of constituencies and organizations case by case an example of which is the
Scottish Youth Parliament .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.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, Louisiana, 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.ee also
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List of youth councils
*Youth voice
*Student voice
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*European Youth Forum External links
* [http://www.freechild.org/WYCD.pdf Washington Youth Voice Directory] The Freechild Project (2005).
* [http://www.nlc.org/iyef/networks___assistance/youth_network/8033.cfm Youth as City Leaders] . A listing of youth councils across the US compiled by the National League of Cities.
* [http://www.takingitglobal.org/voice/ Youth in Policy Processes - TakingITGlobal Voice]
* [http://www.youthlink.org/ Global Youth Action Network]
* [http://www.freechild.org/SIYI/localgov.htm Examples of Youth Councils] on The Freechild Project website.
* [http://www.atthetable.org At The Table - Youth in Decision-Making]
* [http://www.ysa.org/yvi Youth Service America National Youth Council]
* [http://www.theyouthcouncil.com The Youth Council serving Fayette County]
* [http://forumfyi.org/readyby21/groups/youthcouncils Youth Council Learning Group]
* [http://www.syp.org.uk Scottish Youth Parliament]References
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