Youth Development Exchange-International

The goal of youth development and empowerment is to help youth to become happy, healthy and engaged.   

The Framework-Individual Youth

YDE promotes a framework for “holistic” youth development, which is firmly rooted in the Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets model but goes further to accommodate the needs of youth in marginalized communities.    

Our vision of successful adulthood includes:

• Self-actualization 
• Physical and mental health
• Strong bonds with loving family and friends
• Deeply satisfying career
• Social engagement and capital
• Civic engagement

Making the transition from youth to adulthood is no easy feat!  Facilitating proper development involves:  

• Identifying and promoting each child's strengths

• Identifying and curbing risks that threaten each child's success

• Strengthening and supporting each child's family

• Treating each child as a whole person and recognizing they may need coordinated care from professionals from a variety of sectors, who can offer an integrated response to his/her needs 

• Building social capital within the community to raise the resources needed to support youth development and empowerment

• Participating in activist movement to demand political, economic and social justice for the youth population

What do you think about our framework?  Do you have additional (or other) ideas?  Email us at info@yde-intl.org!  

The Framework-Community Problem-Solving

Community leaders need to also think about the overall health of their communities and interrupt negative cycles that harm or inhibit youth development. 

The steps in our problem-solving model include:

• Observation
• Critical Thinking
• Identification of Stakeholders
• Community-Level Advocacy
• Dialogue
• Planning
• Action
• Reflection and Follow-up

Let’s say there is a problem with graffiti in the neighborhood.  Here’s an example of a plan of action that might be used to resolve the issue.

Observation   
A young person notices tags and other graffiti on the walls of a senior center that recently opened.

Critical Thinking
The young person thinks about organizing a community cleanup though he worries the taggers will simply strike again.  

Identification of Stakeholders 
The young person talks to three of his friends and discovers they are also concerned.  They approach the director of the senior center and learns that he believes the graffiti is a community-wide issue that needs attention.  He suggests they go to the next community board meeting and deliver a presentation about the problem.   

Community-Level Advocacy   
The youth group takes pictures of the graffiti around the neighborhood and use them to develop a powerpoint presentation.  They show the slides to the members of the community board and ask for $500 to stage a clean-up.  The community board is very impressed by the passion of the youth group.  They tell them that there is a community awareness day scheduled for next month, which presents a great opportunity to perform a visible action.  The board gives the youth group the money they ask for.

Dialogue 
The youth are excited about the awareness day but also understand there is a need for longer-term solutions.  The director of the senior center invites them to a meeting with the local councilwoman and the community affairs officers from the local police precinct.  The officials agree to participate in the awareness day event and bring additional volunteers.  The councilwoman tells the youth that they should make their presentation to a variety of community groups to begin building a base for further community organizing around the issue.  She also agrees to handle the publicity and marketing for the event.  The officers promise to bring anti-graffiti comic books to the hand out at the event.  They also remind the group that a small local gallery hosts weekly graffiti arts classes, which is a positive alternative for taggers.      

Planning 
The youth group works with the adult allies to plan the awareness day.  They use MySpace and Facebook to mobilize local teens to turn out to the event.  They also help write the press release that goes out to local media.  In the weeks leading up to the awareness day, they provide ongoing presentations to community groups about the graffiti problem.   

Action   
100 people participate in the awareness day clean-up.  It is covered by several local stations.  The councilwoman acknowledges the critical role the youth group played in the event.  The police promise a better crackdown on illegal graffiti artists and announce they will do anti-graffiti workshops in local schools.  The gallery hands out information about their graffiti arts class.  Overall, the event is a success.

Reflection and Follow-Up
The youth think about their success and impact, realizing that change can be made when the community works together to solve a problem.  The senior center director works with them to send out thank you letters to all of the attendees, including the councilwoman and the police officers. 

The councilwoman establishes a youth task force and invites the youth organizers to serve with her.  She provides them with on-going leadership and community organizing skills training.

The youth create a pamphlet about youth organizing and distribute it to youth groups throughout the city.

After earning publicity, the gallery receives a $10,000 grant to expand its grafitti arts program.  Over forty neighborhood youth participate in the program.  The incidences of community graffiti diminish.

Are you interested in learning more about the Youth Development Exchange-International's framework?  E-mail our Director at chiquita@yde-intl.org.