Highlighted session: Ensuring youth voice in sustainable development and effective program/policy development: the potential for engagement through the UNESCO Youth as Researchers Program

Group Submission Type: Highlighted Paper Session

Proposal

Ensuring Youth Voice in Sustainable Development and Effective Program/Policy Development: The Potential for Engagement through the UNESCO Youth as Researchers Program

Mark Brennan, Penn State University, USA (Chair)
Pat Dolan, National University of Ireland, Galway (Discussant)
John Davis, University of Strathclyde, Scotland
Alan Smith, University of Ulster, UK
Jo Caffery, University of Canberra, Australia
Sebastian Galindo, University of Florida, USA
Kaila Thorn, Penn State University, USA
Sean Campbell, Foroige, Ireland


Youth are critically important members of our communities and have vital contributions to make to the well-being of their peers and society. To exclude young people from conversations about present-day concerns and future directions is not only insulting, it is dangerous. This panel discussion highlights case study examples of YAR programming in three separate countries, dealing with distinctly different demographic groups of youth, that are using their research to shape communities they are invested in living in. The discussion further explores sustainable education for low income countries with a shift in focus to natural resources. The discussion concludes with next steps and future directions. The authors highlight the role of outreach and extension in youth engagement, focusing on ways that youth can be involved in sustainable development for future generations.

#1 Ensuring Youth Voice in Sustainable Develop and Effective Program/Policy Development: The Potential for Youth as Researchers
UNESCO, the United Nations, and other global and national entities have called for youth voice in policy and programming decisions, however there is a consistent issue in capturing that voice. The UNESCO Youth as Researchers, program answers that call to capture youth voice and include it in the local and political arena’s it is needed. The Youth as Researcher program, provides a rigorous research methods training manual and workbook sharing a step-by-step guide on carrying out youth-led research. This method allows research, driven by youth, to enable young people to add their voice and influence change on things that are of importance to them. Thus far the action research program has been offered and evaluated across the globe impacting local communities in increasing community involvement in issues and in the reformation of a nation’s youth law. This sustainable approach to involving youth voice allows for youth to be involved in shaping their futures and developing communities they are invested in.

#2 Youth Voice as Seen Through Youth as Researchers: Case Study Examples
This panel discussion highlights three case study examples of the Youth as Researcher program, that has been successful employed in not only different country localities but also involving different demographics of young people. These examples include youth in Ballina, Ireland looking at mental health as it is perceived by young people. This is followed by youth in Philadelphia, U.S., where this young group determined racial discrimination in policing in their North Philadelphia neighborhood to be of importance to them. With both groups the discussion will highlight how they came about their topics, what research was collected, and what intrinsic benefit this program has given participants. The final Youth as Researcher group is set in Hanoi, Vietnam, where older youth participants are using their research to help in the reformation of the country’s Youth Law. As with all settings, the youth were the leaders in deciding which topic to explore, how to conduct the research, data collection, data analysis, and in what ways their planned to present their research. Youth-le research has enabled these young people to feel empowered and to feel that their voice is being heard everywhere from their peers, to their neighborhoods, and to their country’s leaders.

#3 Sustainability Education in Low Income Countries with a Focus on Community and Youth Voice
As indicated above youth voice can be a powerful tool when given effective outlets. When youth have a voice and are listened to, they have the potential to impact social movements, political actions, and create long standing sustainable change. This portion of the discussion will shift focus to the power of young voices in low income countries and the impacts they can have on the natural resource changes they are experiencing. Youth in today’s changing climate are well equipped to feel the effects of warmer temperatures and heavier precipitation, they are also well equipped in the knowledge that they are the future generation, and that will feel the greatest effects from this global phenomenon. While many youths across all socioeconomic groups feel the environmental effects, low income countries are most dramatically and negatively impacted. Youth engaged in their future in sustainable ways are better fortified to manage future environmental unknowns and what that will mean for their community’s well-being.

#4 Future Directions for Outreach and Extension: Expanding Opportunities for Sustainable Development through Youth Engagement
Further looking at a community’s well-being it is known that sustainable community development cannot happen without involving youth. Engaging youth in future directions of communities will ensure long term efforts to seamless transition into the challenges that future generations of community’s face. Assisting in those challenges has been long-standing outreach and extension programs. Outreach and extension reflect a broad knowledge base of information communities have relied on for decades, as well as the latest research and engagement to handle unknown conjectures. Working with outreach and extension to tailor multidisciplinary research and programming through engaging local residents and recipients of programming, including youth, is a way to reach the needs of future generations. This research and programming can be a form of reducing the gap between outreach efforts and locals that are unaware of what outreach and extension have to offer. As seen with the Youth as Researchers program, young people have interest to be engaged in topics of importance to them and their communities, however their research showed a lack of knowledge of outreach and extension provided materials. Research and programming such as the Youth as Researchers, is a way to facilitate the connection and application of research findings to on the ground practice, therefore maximizing the potential influence and receptiveness of outreach and extension.

Sub Unit

• SIG: Youth Development and Education

Chair

• Patrick Dolan, NUI Galway/UNESCO

Individual Presentations

• Ensuring Youth Voice in Sustainable Development and Effective Program/Policy Development: The Potential for Youth as Researchers - Patrick Dolan, NUI Galway/UNESCO; John Davis Davis, Uiversity of Strathclyde; Alan Smith, UNESCO Centre, Ulster Unviersity, Northern Ireland; Jo Caffery, University of Canberra; Sebastian Galindo, University of Florida; Kaila Thorn, Penn State; Sean Campbell, Sean Campbell

• Youth Voice as Seen Through UNESCO Youth as Researchers: Case Study Examples - Kaila Thorn, Penn State; Mark A Brennan, Penn State University / UNESCO; Patrick Dolan, NUI Galway/UNESCO; Sean Campbell, Sean Campbell; Jo Caffery, University of Canberra; Alan Smith, UNESCO Centre, Ulster Unviersity, Northern Ireland; John Davis Davis, Uiversity of Strathclyde; Sebastian Galindo, University of Florida

• Sustainability Education in Low Income Countries With a Focus on Community and Youth Voice - Jo Caffery, University of Canberra; Mark A Brennan, Penn State University / UNESCO; Patrick Dolan, NUI Galway/UNESCO; Alan Smith, UNESCO Centre, Ulster Unviersity, Northern Ireland; John Davis Davis, Uiversity of Strathclyde; Sebastian Galindo, University of Florida; Kaila Thorn, Penn State; Sean Campbell, Sean Campbell

• Future Directions for Outreach and Extension: Expanding Opportunities for Sustainable Development through Youth Engagement - Sebastian Galindo, University of Florida; Mark A Brennan, Penn State University / UNESCO; Alan Smith, UNESCO Centre, Ulster Unviersity, Northern Ireland; John Davis Davis, Uiversity of Strathclyde; Patrick Dolan, NUI Galway/UNESCO; Jo Caffery, University of Canberra; Kaila Thorn, Penn State; Sean Campbell, Sean Campbell

Discussant

• John Davis Davis, Uiversity of Strathclyde