Thoughts from a trainee social worker.
The concept of youth voice is central to youth engagement. In other words, youth voice means that the unique ideas, opinions and concerns of young people are respected and youth feel free to express them within an organization or program. Youth voices are seen as equally important as those belonging to adults.
Youth engagement is the meaningful and sustained involvement of a young person in an activity focusing outside the self. Youth have a lot to gain and contribute, when they are meaningfully engaged in a positive activity.
Organizations can help increasing youth voices in society by puting the principle of youth voice into practice by creating opportunities for youth to speak, be heard and be listened to.
Having positive, supportive relationships with the others, like adults and leaders, youth develop and maintain positive mental health that helps them be brave and confident about what they are doing and about themself. Also, the community support is important because it helps bringing faster positive results in involving their youth by volunteering in society and that is how the society sees the youths involvement and their voices.
We can increase youth voices in society by uniting the youth in all types of organizations, activities and involving and let them speak for others to see and hear. Having also support from those who lead us, help increasing youth voices and give them the opportunity to be seen and heard.
The main thing is that youth need to know if they are important and matter. For that to happen, the rest of the people, like adults and ones that lead them have to show that and encouraging them to participate, and so, youths know that they are important and that is how their voices will be heard in society.