The Power of “PYD”
Carole MacNeil, Ph.D.
Originally posted Sept. 15, 2014, on Blog – Voices of IREX at: http://www.irex.org/news/power-positive-youth-development.
One of my greatest joys over the last twenty years has been the work to support youth leadership and youth civic engagement and activism, watching young people work together to change their organizations, communities, and environments for the better. I continue to be amazed and inspired by the talent, insights, creativity, and passion that I see among young people who won’t accept that war is inevitable, that real justice is an idealistic pipedream, or that society’s biggest problems are too tough to ever be solved. Instead, I’ve witnessed what some might call youthful idealism turn into organized, committed, energized action resulting in real and positive change.
This is all well and good in a developed context, some might say; after all, there are resources available to support youth in developing the skills they need to act as leaders. But in many developing contexts, youth have more pressing needs than to learn civic activism, right?
Well, no. If we can—and should—learn anything from decades of research on youth development, it is that intervention strategies and prevention strategies are, by themselves, not enough. Of course, we have to address the traumas faced by youth or “problem” behaviors of youth that have lost their way; of course, we should work to prevent health risks and other issues. But that isn’t enough. And worse, when we only see young people as victims, as problems that need solving, or as potential problems that need to be prevented, we’ve shortchanged what is possible for them, for their futures, and for all of our futures as well.
Youth workers in the US often use a framework of “positive youth development” (PYD), a paradigm that sees young people as assets to their organizations and communities, having talents, skills, interests, energy and other gifts to offer now, not only in the future. A PYD approach supports youth in developing life and work skills, and intentionally creates opportunities for them to apply those skills in meaningful ways. And it happens in an environment that is safe and inclusive and that supports the development of caring relationships among youth and between youth and adults. Research tells us these are critical elements in supporting young people to thrive, to develop into their fullest potential.
Yet in many of the contexts I’ve worked in throughout Africa and the Middle East, the concept of PYD is underutilized or even unknown. Youth are described in terms of their problems. The so-called “youth bulge” is discussed with trepidation: how can we possibly solve the problems of so many young people?
A PYD philosophy calls us to change our view of youth as problems, and instead focus on the connection between the positive development of young people and the overall well being of our communities. PYD sees youth as being capable, contributing members of their communities now, who can be partners in solving problems and creating opportunities for themselves and others.
In IREX’s Partnership With Youth project, for example, a PYD approach has been integrated throughout all aspects of this multi-year project. Not only are youth supported in learning new skills and knowledge, but the skills they learn are then attached to meaningful opportunities to apply those skills right away, to solve real problems and create positive change. In Partnerships With Youth, young people have conducted community research to guide the work of the project, they’ve developed tools to support the organizational development of new youth centers, they’ve learned and then trained others on how to develop and lead service-learning projects in their communities. Youth take on critical leadership roles in a wide range of PWY’s activities.
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Members of the Youth Research Team, conducting research on communities throughout the West Bank, June 2013.
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This harnessing of talent and skills, insights and energy is beneficial to the youth who participate: they further develop skills that will last them throughout their life, and they learn how to use those skills to make change happen. They become a part of something bigger than themselves, a community of committed change agents, a groundswell of positive social change. And through that, they develop relationships that nurture their continuing development. But the youth aren’t the only beneficiaries. The project benefits from their commitment and contributions; the organizations they work with benefit from their skills and talents. The larger community and country benefit from what they can offer as citizens and positive change agents, both now and in the future.
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Participants in PWY’s Leadership in Action Training of Trainers, March 2014.
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There is a story about a beggar, who sits on a box in the road asking all who pass for a few pennies so he can eat, while never realizing that he is sitting on a box filled with money. It seems to me that when we work with youth without using a PYD lens, we are a bit like the beggar, failing to realize that our communities’ greatest assets—our young people—are right in front of us. But when we see youth as resources, and when we intentionally work to build on their existing assets and to support their engagement in community, we strengthen them as individuals and at the same time, we strengthen the community as a whole.
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