Shifting Power through Youth Power
Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages
Missed the last Leadership Lab? Learn more about the key takeaways from the session!
What was the session about?
Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages is this year’s International Youth Day topic. The world has to utilize the full potential of all generations in order to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Putting young people at the center of decision-making by assigning them to governance positions is one way to do this.
In this Leadership Lab, we listened to three different youth speakers who shared with us their experiences in Governance spaces in their respective programs.
Key takeaways:
- When involving young people in governance responsibilities, it is crucial to keep in mind four key principles: 1) recognizing dynamics of power 2) avoiding beginning from scratch; 3) involving a variety of community members; 4) Paying attention to community members who can take the lead
- To promote local ownership and sustainability, it is crucial to help intergenerational groups in becoming advocates and to guarantee that both younger and older people may take on leadership roles locally
- Create networks and collaborate. Youth-led groups must consult with their peers, and their networks, and draw inspiration from other young people’s innovations
- The expectations and the reality must match
- Young people need to be totally involved, able to ask questions, and free to express their thoughts
- Young people in positions of governance have a responsibility to speak up, be as inclusive as possible to reflect the diverse youth, and pave the way for others.
- It is crucial to establish young government bodies that adhere to the principles of youth organizing and to sufficiently fund them.
- To achieve strategic engagement, young people should be involved from the start of the design process. This enables young people to participate in the creation of roles and duties.
- Pay the young people for the work they do, which will also enable them to organize themselves. When assistance is required, resourcing also includes expertise
- The entire area needs to be reimagined; it must be adaptable, willing to change, and willing to invest in the process
The future is in our hands, we can work together with other countries, it should be our power to build a new world – Important on connections and intertwined collaborations
one of the young Civil Society Organizations member, in response to how young people are being engaged in leadership spaces.
The session was led in English, Spanish, and Arabic.
The objectives of this session were –
- To emphasize the significance of having young people in positions of governance as part of the effective youth engagement strategy
- To gain insight into what is working and what is not in governance settings from the experiences of young leaders in the field
- Engage with young people’s civil society and donors and influence how they approach putting young people in positions of power
- Give people a place to gather and network
- Enhance peer-to-peer learning about youth governance
- Foster a wider understanding of best practices.
The session was led by –
- Restless Development
- Youth Power Panel
- We Lead
- Youth Collective
- Help Age
Moderators for the session :
Inés Yábar
Inés, from Peru, has been a sustainability activist since she was 15. She is Restless Development’s Global Youth Power Manager and sits on the leadership team. Inés is on the board of L.O.O.P. and of Ensemble pour TECHO which she co-founded. She is a Global Shaper and Alumni Youth Power Panelist.
Ruth Awori
Ruth is a Young leader currently serving as the Acting Executive Director at the Uganda Network of Young People living with HIV/AIDS. This has exposed her to decision-making bodies, processes, and committees. She brings knowledge from a lived experience as a young leader, and accumulated expertise in programming and youth leadership
Speakers for the session :
Valentina Vargas Ricca
Born and raised in Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, Valentina is an independent consultant and activist for the rights of women with disabilities. She is one of the founders of Mujeres con Capacidad de Soñar a Colores, Guatemala’s first collective of women with disabilities and allies, which uses art, personal and collective strengthening, and advocacy as tools for social transformation.
Shawgi Ahmed
Shawgi, a youth advocate from Sudan, is a social activist with vast experience in the non-Profit sector, with a special focus on community development. Shawgi now works as the Co-Founder and the Public leadership Program Manager with PLACE Network
Nikita Khanna
Nikita is an economics graduate from the University of Delhi and holds a Master in Development Studies and M.Phil in Development Practice from Ambedkar University, Delhi. She works as the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Manager at Restless Development. She has been a key member of the MEL and Research team at Restless Development since 2018.
Breakout-Room Leads :
Fisayo Owoyemi
Fisayo Owoyemi is a Nigerian-based queer feminist whose career has been centered on helping to improve the lives and well-being of queer Nigerians. Previously, her work targeted lesbian, bisexual, and queer women in Nigeria to improve their socioeconomic well-being, as well as their sexual and reproductive health. Currently, Fisayo is the Community of Action Facilitator for the We Lead program in Nigeria.
Mohammad Rifli Mubarak
A third-year law student who is devoted to the realm of organizational management affairs, and academic writings, and has various notion contributions through scientific journals and online media. Aside from working as a legal researcher, he’s also an active author and public speaker who attends around 20+ national and international events which involve Indonesian and global youths as the participants.
Caleb Masusu
Caleb has 5 years of progressive experience building capacity, designing and implementing adaptive social behavioral change interventions, and possesses a wide understanding of development especially youth-focused Life skills and gender & Sexual rights programs. Caleb is a Development study graduate from Mulungushi University and is currently pursuing his Masters in Public Health at the University of Lusaka, Zambia.
What are ‘Leadership Labs’?
In this peer-led initiative, Youth Collective members will be sharing their leadership skills and tools through interactive, online sessions. If you have an idea for a Leadership Lab session or a query about the series, please contact youthcollective@restlessdevelopment.org