Youth Music Guidance on Involving Young People What does Youth Involvement mean? Youth Involvement is the umbrella term which encapsulates anything from consultation with a young person through to active participation in the decision-making process. When planning your project, we encourage you to consider the key words below. The definitions are set out by Save the Children (link to www.savethechildren.org.uk) Participation refers to young people taking an active role in a project or a process. By participating, young people have the power to help shape a process. Consultation means listening to young people’s voices and views and giving them appropriate feedback. Involvement is used more generally to describe the variety of ways in which young people participate and are consulted. (Source: Practice Standards in Children’s Participation, Save the Children 2004)
Roger Hart created the above ladder as a means of expressing the different levels of youth involvement and as a tool to help organisations map their youth participation activity. It demonstrates that involvement can take place on a variety of levels and that actually anything from rung four upwards may be suitable and appropriate.
Benefits of involving young people (Taken from Involving children and young people – an introduction, The National Youth Agency, May 2007) Involving young people in decision-making has many benefits. These include: • A voice and an influence for children and young people, which it is their right to have • More accountable and improved structures, policies and decisionmaking • Better responses to the issues and concerns faced by children and young people • Opportunities for personal development among those who are often excluded • Promoting children and young people as creators, not consumers, and as active participants • Enabling children and young people's participation in wider society Youth Music firmly believes that the quality of a young person's music-making experience will be improved if they have a voice and are actively involved in the shaping of the activity. The more empowered the young people feel, the more successful the project is likely to be, which, in turn, will provide the evidence and make the case for further investment for young people's music making projects. 'I wanted to volunteer cos I liked the idea of giving young people a voice. There was nothing to do when I was 13/14' (Youth Music participant).
Young People’s rights Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child there are two articles which refer directly to the voice and opinion of young people: Article 12 Children and young people have the right their own views, to express those views, and for them to be listened to and taken seriously. Article 13 Children and young people have the right to learn, discover and express their views freely, be it through making art, speaking, writing or any other medium, unless it infringes the rights of others. (Source: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm)
Methods of involving young people These are some examples of how you might consider involving young people and empowering them to be involved in the decision-making process. These are just ideas and suggestions; you should consider what is most appropriate and relevant for you and your project. There are many ways to involve young people and ensure that they have a voice and influence. Broadly, they can be broken into the two categories below. 1. Informal/ad hoc This category includes informal consultation events, offering young people the chance to input ideas at any stage during a process (either before a project begins, to help shape it, or during project delivery). Other informal mechanisms include participants contributing to the evaluation and reflecting on their experiences. This could be via feedback events, online forums or one-to-one interviews. An informal approach can help to involve a wider group of young people, particularly those who wouldn't necessarily engage with a more formal decision-making structure. 2. Formal/structured You might want to embed more formal processes for young people to be part of decision-making, such as an advisory group or committee. See Youth Music's guidance on setting up and managing a volunteering scheme. You need to consider why this method is appropriate and whether the young people will actually have decision-making power. Working in collaboration with young people to establish roles and responsibilities from an early stage will increase the effectiveness of a formal structure.
Key things to remember (Source: Involving children and young people – an introduction, The National Youth Agency, May 2007) 1. Consent Everyone should have the right to contribute as much or as little as they choose. Make sure you have the permission of the children and young people, but also think who else you may need to ask for consent. It may be parents and carers, teachers or youth workers. If you are planning to take photos, take particular care to have the right permissions, which may need to be in writing. 2. Protection What are the risks of involving children and young people and how can these be reduced? Have you done a risk assessment? Are workers police checked? Have you the right insurance? Do you have a clear children protection policy and do all those involved know of it? Is the venue safe? 3. Access Who is likely to be affected by the work you do, and are the people you want to involve in decision-making reflective of this wider group? Who is likely to get missed out and what steps can you take to reduce this risk? Have you
considered age, race, gender, sexuality, ability and geography? For example, if you are working in an early years project, how are you going to ensure that the children have a voice and a role in decision-making? Access is about buildings, but also time, places, style of meetings, language and access to computers. 4. Rewards and feedback How are the children and young people being thanked and rewarded for their involvement? How will they know their participation has led to influence, action and change? Who is going to tell them, when and how? What ways are there to reward their contribution? Certificates and letters of thanks, payment, remuneration, gifts and accreditation all have their place. 'They offered us a voucher for a music shop if we came to all 3 sessions' (Youth Music participant).
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Ensure that you really listen and think about how it sounds from a young person's perspective: 'make it sound really good and talk to us and ask for our ideas' (Youth Music participant) The key to successful involvement of young people in decision-making is collaboration and relevant adult support and supervision: 'be prepared to set aside time to listen and mentor participants' (Project coordinator) 'Allow young people to take the lead and as much ownership as possible' (Project coordinator) Have regular meetings or one-to-ones with young people to keep communication lines open Give young people tasks which reflect their interests and skills: 'give some jobs and responsibilities to young people and let them plan themselves' (Youth Music participant) Be realistic about what is achievable within the resources available: 'sometimes we wanted to do things that weren't possible due to health and safety or not enough money, so we had to find alternatives’ (Youth Music participant) Ensure there is enough time for planning. Don't underestimate how long this stage will take 'Try to work with young people from different age groups and backgrounds to get different opinions. We all got on really well together but we didn’t all want exactly the same thing and that was good' (Youth Music participant) 'Be transparent and honest about your objectives' (Project coordinator) Consider the impact of their involvement on the young people's future progression and ensure that they gain a real and clear picture of future expectations. 'We were a little too lenient with them on time, when this wouldn’t be accepted in the industry. When the programme finished there wasn’t as much time for workers to support this group on an on-going basis, although the young people involved were signposted to other activities'. (Project coordinator)
Case Study One – Kinetika Bloco Summer School Why did you decide to involve young people in running the event? We think it is really important to involve young people in all areas of the work. There is not much point arranging a project for them and not consulting them on if they want it. So if you have young people involved from the beginning of a project then you can arrange it so that it fits their needs and therefore is much more successful. If a company is about young people it must give them a say and a voice in what they do. How was working together (young people and adults) organised? For example, were there regular meetings? Did you work in teams or as individuals etc. ? This depends on the project. For the Kinetika Bloco Summer School the young people are Trainees on the project and so are responsible for helping to arrange and lead each session. For this project we met as a full team – Trainees and professionals each morning to plan the day and brief everyone on their role for the day and met at the end of the day to de-brief on any issues that had arisen. Some performances are now run by the Trainees themselves. As a Project Manager I will normally do the initial liaising with the client who wants to book us. Then there is a young person who works in the office who takes it from there – she organises everything and asks me for advice and help as required. On the actual event day she is in charge along with any other Trainees, I simply attend to drive the van and as a pastoral care worker in case there are any issues with the young people. For some of our workshops the Trainees lead the sessions with the Professional staff overseeing and being available if they are needed. I feel it is important in all the work that we do to involve young people, but not to drop them in the deep end. Professionals are in their role because they have experience and skills, young people are just developing all of this. It is important to give them freedom to lead and not keep stepping in and taking over, but it is also important that you are present and available to be called on if they step out of their depth. Communication is key, to talk to each other before and after a project to brief them of what responsibility you are giving them and what you expect to do and then afterwards to feedback how they did – what worked, what didn’t, so that they learn and move forwards. What worked well? The young people leading the creative process works well because it means the music that you create is relevant and exciting to other young people. Having young people lead workshops for other young people also works really well because it is inspirational for those taking part to see a committed confident young person in a position of responsibility. What didn’t work so well? Often the organisational side doesn’t work so well, young people don’t always understand the need for forward planning, sticking to schedules, and
communicating clearly. When they are responsible for the organisation of something – such as arranging a meeting or designing a flyer – it takes a lot longer for it to get done than if I do it myself! However this is all part of the learning process for them. So if you are involving young people in these areas you need to make sure you plan the project with this in mind. Leave lots of time to get things done. And communicate lots with the young person, explain to them the order that things need to be done in, and why, and explain what happens if things don’t get done on time.
If you were doing it again, what would you do differently? I am learning all the time, I think what I learn is that all young people are different and learn and lead in different ways and getting to know them is really important. Don’t assume anything, and talk to them from the beginning of the project.
Were there ever any differences in opinion between what you wanted to do and what the young people wanted to do? If so, how was that sorted out? Occasionally there are small differences but I think we are really clear about what the mission and aims of the Kinetika Bloco are and so the young people we work with are clear about this as well. Therefore they know why we are doing what we are doing; they own that, and so most of the time we are all on the same page. Sometimes they do things in a different way than I would but that’s fine because we are different and often their way probably works better! We have a long standing relationship with our young people as well so we know them well and, as I keep saying, we talk to them a lot. They have a lot of respect for our professional team and it is mutual. So often if there is a discussion about the way we do something it is exactly that a discussion, they work it out for the best of the group. What would be the three top tips you would give adults for involving young people in this kind of an event? 1) Communicate – communicate with them from the beginning and all the way through and after! 2) Be honest – a young person can totally see through if you are involving them as the token young person, they can tell if you really want to hear their ideas or not and if you’re not honest they’re gone. 3) Learn when to ask, when to listen and when to shut up!
CASE STUDY Two – Youth Music Regional Officer Julia Mcinally talks about her Youth Music Power Play project in Sheffield.
Why did you decide to involve young people in running the event? Because I believe it’s important that young people get the opportunity to make their own decisions for something that directly impacts on their lives. It allows young people to take ownership and responsibility and also spread the word positively to their colleagues and friends to also get involved. I also think that young people don’t have preconceived ideas about anything, so they can come up with fresh ideas and new ways of working and it is genuinely exciting to work with them.
How was working together (young people and adults) organised? For example, were there regular meetings? Did you work in teams or as individuals? Etc. This was only a three-day process so difficult to answer. We met with eight young people as a group and consulted them on choosing a music leader for the Youth Music Power Play Sheffield project. We asked their opinions about the applications and who they would like to interview, and then asked them to create the questions to ask the candidates as they would be conducting the interviews themselves. The group were very excited and nervous about this and decided between them who would actually ask the questions and who would observe. On the interview days they all (8 teenagers) took part in the mini workshops led by the music leaders and three of the young people asked the questions whilst the rest observed. Following this we had a meeting to decide who they wanted to work with long term during the project. What worked well? • •
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Asking the group to select the questions, as they came up with some fantastic ones that we might not have asked Integration between young people from three different cultural backgrounds and youth clubs (three groups that had not met previously and were pretty wary for the first half an hour!!) Attendance – only one person didn’t show up for session two, and one for session three Collaboration and understanding. Some young people naturally became leaders throughout the project and were able to guide and cajole others Young people actually asking the interview questions and directing the musicians was a powerful experience and probably quite challenging for the musicians, however this felt like a more realistic process for selecting someone who is really up to working with young people from a variety of age groups, cultures, gangs etc
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Difficult to recruit young people in the first instance but the incentive of buying some record vouchers seemed to work. Now I think it will be very hard to disengage them as they all seemed to get a lot out of the
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process Some problems with the venue chosen and this impacted on the experience for the young people. In future I would select a really nice venue so they get the opportunity to work somewhere really professional Selling the value of real youth participation to others – but now we have done it I think it may become more a part of how the lead organisation for the project works in future
If you were doing it again, what would you do differently? • •
Providing the young people with a better and more suitable venue to meet and interview people Having more of a plan in mind for the interviews myself before we started as there were one or two key elements that I felt were missed and the young people could easily have been guided to incorporate them
Were there ever any differences in opinion between what you wanted to do and what the young people wanted to do? If so, how was that sorted out? •
As described above, there were elements I felt should have been included but weren't. I didn’t give any advice but just offered two ways of working based on their ideas and they then came to their own conclusions. In the most part though I agreed 100% with the viewpoint of the young people and so did the other adults involved in the process
What would be the three top tips you would give adults for involving young people in this kind of an event? •
Trust in the young people’s capability to know what they want and still work within any limitations there may be
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If there is a difference of opinion, think about whether it is detrimental to the work to go with the young people’s decision. If it’s not, go with them and support the process, if it is, get creative!!
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Ask for individual opinions as part of the group process. If you say you want a response from everybody and lay out the ground rules for doing this you get a much more comprehensive opinion than if you just ask the group as a whole for their viewpoint. There tends to always be one or two people who will shout the loudest if you do this and the quieter ones will hang back
Signposting to further information There are more and more websites and resources emerging, as youth
involvement becomes even more of a focus and priority for all sectors. This is a selection of websites, some which feature useful resources, which have some excellent tips, case studies and back ground information about involving young people.
www.ncvys.org.uk (National Council for Voluntary Youth Services) www.carnegietrust.org.uk (hosts the Participation Workers Network England and Participation Works - www.participationworks.org.uk) www.savethechildren.org.uk (publication “children and participation” and very useful “children are service users too” costs £4.95 to order)
www.nya.org.uk (National Youth Agency, includes new Act by Right accredited resource to promote children and young people’s skills)
www.nya.org.uk/hearbyright (Hear by Right - self assessment tool for measuring standards of youth involvement)
www.unhchr.ch (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/participation/ www.changemakers.org.uk www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk
Want to contribute? Youth Music is keen to further build advice and case studies around the involvement of children and young people in decision making. If you would like to submit a case study or offer any advice for other organisations, please email info@youthmusic.org.uk. We are also interested in audio and video clips to support any case study material.