Phase 1: Get Ready for Youth Engagement

Prepare yourself, your team, and your organization to be increasingly youth-friendly and to work with youth instead of for youth.  This often means reflecting on and changing one’s practices, policies, and partnerships.

The aim of this phase is to support adults and organizations get ready to work with youth, instead of for youth.  This often requires changes in the ways that adults and organizations think about, relate to, and work with youth (Family Health International [FHI], 2005; Zeldin et al., 2005; Pereira, 2007). 

Ideally, youth will be actively involved in these processes.  This may not be possible or appropriate in all situations, particularly for organizations that are just getting started in youth engagement.

Refer to the OPHA Youth Engagement Toolkit for more on Phase 1:

• Get yourself ready for youth engagement
• Get your public health unit ready for youth engagement
• Working with community partners
• Develop a youth engagement program plan
• How to develop a youth engagement program plan
• Resources needed for Youth Engagement
• Questions to consider
• Activities to support this phase

• Additional reading and resources