An Emerging Model for Working with Youth
Year of production: 2003
Image is illustrative. Photo by Cori Rodriguez from Pexels
In “An Emerging Model for Working with Youth: Community Organizing + Youth Development = Youth Organizing,” LISTEN, Inc., a training and support organization, tackles the basics of youth organizing—origins, concepts, models, principles, and practices.
This paper outlines the essential elements of community organizing and youth engagement that are shaping the field of youth organizing.
In our discussion of community organizing, we examine the influence of traditional community organizing models and activist movements led by people of color, while our discussion of youth development is informed by the positive youth development framework articulated by Karen Pittman and the Forum for Youth Investment.
We offer a description of the guiding principles and benefits of the youth organizing approach, and we conclude with recommendations for sustaining the field of youth organizing.