Жастардың қоғамдық өмірге белсенді қатысуы

Active engagement of youth in communities

Youth participation is the active engagement of young people throughout their own communities. It is often used as a shorthand for youth participation in any many forms, including decision making, sports, schools and any activity where young people are not historically engaged.

The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989) formally enshrines the rights of children and young people to participate. Article 12.1 provides: “States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.”

There are various models of youth participation which can be followed when attempting to get young people involved with decision making or acting for change. Marc Jans and Kurt De Backer present the Triangle of Youth Participation. This suggests that young people will actively engage with society when presented with three specific dimensions; firstly they must have something to challenge. Following this, they must feel they have the capacity to make a difference and finally must be able to connect with others in order to tackle the issue effectively. Hart’s Ladder of Participation is a model that can be used when developing and working on youth participation projects. It aims to enable young people to take an active part in decision making, and give them the opportunity to have a 'voice' in society. Hart states there are 8 steps on the 'Ladder of Participation" The first three steps, manipulation, decoration and tokenism, are considered not be engaging young people in active youth participation, but instead provide a pathway to move up onto the other stages of youth participation. The following five steps after this look at how to fully integrate young people into the decision making process and how to get them actively involved. These steps evolve in that the next step the adult organize an event for young people to volunteer in (young people assigned but not informed). Following this the young people's opinions will have some influence on decisions made and they will receive feedback on these opinions (Young people are consulted and informed). Next step involves adults coming up with the initial idea, and young people taking the necessary steps to implement it with their own ideas and organization (Adult initiated, shared power with young people). The penultimate step look at young people having full power and creative license over their ideas and projects (Young people lead and initiated action). The final step looks at the amalgamation of some of the final few steps, in that the young people initiate the idea and invite adults to join in, thus leading to an equal partnership. (Young people and adult share decision making.) Adam Fletcher of the Freechild Project has identified a range of youth participation in social change through his "Cycle of Engagement". David Driskell, another UN affiliated researcher, has identified several "steps" towards youth participation, while Daniel Ho Sang has analyzed models according to a horizontal continuum.

In some Indigenous communities of the Americas, children are seen as legitimate participants and have access to learn in order to make an important impact in their community. Their high involvement in family endeavors allow them to observe and experience skills they will need as community members. Children are able to learn because they have the chance to collaborate with everyone in the community. They also are eager to participate and take initiative to engage in family and community events

At different ages, children are performing a variety of tasks in their community. In the Yucatec Mayan community of Mexico, regardless of age, every member can be seen participating in the daily endeavors of their family in some form. At the age of 18 months, Mari is the youngest child in her family. Mari imitates her mother by using a leaf to scrub the stool like her mother. Mari’s mother pleasantly watcher her while she continues to clean the furniture. Although she is very young, her mother welcomes her eagerness to participate in the family’s daily endeavors. Indigenous children of San Pedro engage in activities like play, lessons, work and free standing conversation, with family and community members of different ages. Children from the age of two to three year olds are integrated in activities with their elders. For example, Many two to three year olds do errands around the community and sell fruit or other goods. This gives children greater accessibility to the endeavors of their elders and greater chances to learn useful skills. Around three years old, Indigenous Mayan children from San Pedro, Guatemala are involved in mature work such as farming, cooking, and caregiving. At this age they are observing what others are doing around them, but around five years old they begin to directly help out such as running errands on their own. The Mayan children are able to learn by being highly involved in the adults’ work. In the community of Chillihuani in the high Peruvian Andes, at an early age, children around the age of four years old contribute to their family by running errands and helping take care of younger siblings. Four year old Victor contributes to his family by running errands and helping take care of his two younger sisters by bringing his mother's diapers, going outside to dust small blankets, and holding their bottles while his sisters are drinking milk. This allows children to observe, listen and learn so that they can be able to meaningfully contribute to these endeavors as they get older. As the children become older, they are able to take on more responsibilities. Also, as their skills become more advanced, children are able to take initiative in different tasks. In Guadalajara, Mexico, children around nine to ten years old were reported regularly to take the initiative and contribute to family household works and activities like cleaning the house. This initiation allows children to be more involved in their community. For example, In Yucatan, Mexico, children as young as fifteen year old will take over his father’s field to cultivate which helps out their family immensely. They were able to learn how to build the toy by working together, considering others ideas, and combining their methods. This study shows that being part of the community at an early age allows them to learn important values such as involvement and contribution which they carry out in their own activities. In many Indigenous American communities, children are considered as legitimate contributing participants. Children are integrated in the daily endeavors of the family and community. They have greater access to various opportunities to observe and learn so that they can make a meaningful impact in their family and community.

Many young people who leave the care system are largely excluded in society. They are less likely to be in employment or higher education and at higher risk of trafficking, exploitation and suicide. In recent years, many organisations of care leavers have become established across the world. Some aim to support each other; others to ensure they can participate more in the decisions made about them. They are particularly vocal in global efforts at transforming systems of care or deinstitutionalisation.