Youth Leadership A Myth or Reality [email protected] Dept. of Youth and Community Studies...

Youth Leadership

A Myth or Reality

[email protected]. of Youth and Community Studies

University of Malta

mailto:[email protected]

Paradigm Shift

From:

Young people as potential social problems

To:

Young people as a potential community asset (Little 2002)

Watercolours by Patrick Hoesly

Today

- Empowerment- Emancipation- Participation in decision making- Active Citizenship

(Gore, 2007; Skott-Myre 2005; Haikella 2001)


Youth Participation and Leadership

Watercolours by Patrick Hoesly HOW?

Myth 1

Calling young people leaders makes them leaders


Adults may have different motivations to create illusion that young people are involved.

These range from: - legal obligations; - to obtain funds for their own projects; - to a personal need of power.


Reality 1

Young people are leaders when they initiate, design and manage

and

involve adults in the decision making (Hart 1992)


Myth 2

Leadership can’t be taught. The lucky ones are born with the ‘right stuff’.


Reality 2

Young people can be taught the skills and behaviours needed to be effective leaders through learning by doing.


Leadership is a collaborative, social andrelational activity.

It should be understood as a collective capacity rather than an individual trait.


Leadership is an educational process.

Effective youth leadership is a process that engenders trust and is the result of relationships that focus on the interactions of youth and adults


WHY?


WHY?

The rapid change leads us to be aware of only part of the young people’s reality


Benefits for Young People

- a contributor to academic success- improves mental health- higher self esteem- increase in self efficacy- improves social justice- strengthens the ability to contribute to society- ability to work with others and in diverse environments


Benefits for adults

- become more competent in the youth field

- more able to adapt themselves for young people’s needs

- more satisfaction from their work

- more energy and enthusiasm


As a result REAL youth leadership contributes to co-learning and inter-generational learning.


Reality 1

Young people are leaders when they initiate, design and manage and involve adults in the decision making

And new learning communities are developed where learning takes place in a non-formal and

informal way.


Effectiveness is achieved through

complex thinking, full commitment from all stakeholders and a mindset which sees

differently and is ready to make a twist towards a true

partnership between young people and

adults

Myth 2

Leaders


Positive thoughts cannot exist in a

vacuum. They must be shared with all to be

effective.......just as leaders - young and old must share parts

of themselves with others to be effective.

You are invited!

[email protected]

Youth Leadership A Myth or Reality [email protected] Dept. of Youth and Community Studies...

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