Our Work for Councils

Community engagement refers to the connections between governments, citizens and communities on a range of policy, program and service issues. It encompasses a wide variety of government-community interactions ranging from information sharing to community consultation, and in some instances, active participation in government decision-making.

Community engagement is about the way things are done. It is built upon a belief that the best decisions will be made if those involved in the outcome have every opportunity to participate in the decision-making process.
Community engagement can be viewed as a continuum:

INFORMATION-------------------CONSULTATION----------------PARTICPATION

Definitions:

Information:   To provide the public with balanced and objective information on decisions, policies, plans and strategies.

Consultation:  To obtain public feedback on analysis and alternatives to inform a decision

Participation:  Is made up of several parts:

Involvement: To work directly with the public so that community concerns are consistently understood and considered
Collaboration: To partner with the public in each aspect of the decision process - including the development of alternatives and a solution.
Empowerment: To place a final decision in the hands of the community.

It is important to remember that whether Local Government is providing the young people with information, consulting them or actively seeking their participation in the decision-making process we are making a commitment to 'do something'.

Why Engage Young People?

Young people are integral members of the community who contribute enormously to the community's economic, social and cultural fabric. Young people are a resource in the community who can provide insights, vision and opportunity.

Local Government has a mandate and are obligation to engage the entire community, including young people. There are a number of reasons why it is beneficial to undertake this process and that includes because young people:

are members of the community
are future voters and rate payers
know what other young people want
have new and creative ideas
have particular and specialised needs
are good at planning
are keen to get involved in their community.

The Benefits of Engaging Young People

It is important for both young people and Local Government to find opportunities to engage with each other. When this is achieved it can bring with it a number of benefits to the individual, the Local Government and the broader community. More long term and sustainable benefits occur when Local Government and young people engage in meaningful ways, empowering each to respond to each other needs.

Benefits for Young People	Benefits for Local Government
Develop a better understanding of governance processes contribution to community connectivity to community as a whole individual and group skills and capacity building personal development a developed sense of ownership Increase in control over what happen to them and what happens around them	Better decisions are made appropriate infrastructure built, based on community needs money saved fresh and creative ideas developed a commitment obtained from young people to their community a connection between young people with Local Government if forged a diverse and more interesting community is fostered

How Young People can Engage Local Government

There are numerous and various mechanisms and opportunities for young people to engage with local government. It is critical that young people are both encouraged and educated to be involved with Local Government. Furthermore, young people need to be provided with opportunities to do so.

Some of the opportunities for young people to engage in Local Government include:

logging on council's website
voting at a Local Government election
writing to council
talking to the Mayor, councillors, or council officers
reading council information
attending a council meeting
attending a public meeting organised by council
joining a Youth Advisory Group / Youth Council / Youth Action Group
attending Youth Forums
Filling in surveys / questionnaires.

Principles of Engaging Young People

Engaging young people can be tricky - It is sometimes not easy to undertake. To make this process a little easier there are a number of principles that can be utilised. These principles can make the process and outcomes more effective for both young people and Local Government.

The New Zealand Ministry of Youth Development developed principles that can be adhered to when engaging young people. These were outlined in the Youth Development Participation Guide, "Keeping it Real": A Resource for Involving Young People. The principles include:

Participation is by Choice	Young people need to know they can choose to be involved, or not involved - there will be no repercussions
Participating is Enjoyable, Challenging and Fun	If they have a good experience participating, they are more likely to continue to be involved
Young People's Awareness is Raised	Raising awareness of social, political and personal issues helps young people develop and leads to more informed decision-making
Real Issues are Covered	We are all interested in issues that affect us directly, so involvement must be related to issues perceived as real by the participating group
Values and Culture are Acknowledged	Any form of participation must respect that young people come from a range of cultures and ethnicities, and have different values, beliefs, expectations and experiences
Relationships are Built	Providing time for building relationships strengthens participation
Young People Feel a Sense of Belonging and Security	Young People are more likely to fully participate if they have a sense of belonging in a group and know they will be safe
Adults are Committed	Adults working with young people need to understand, and be committed to, youth participation
Adequate Resources are Provided	Organisations can show commitment to young people’s involvement by providing adequate resourcing, including time, space, transport, funding, information and feedback
Contributions are Valued	Organisations need to value the contributions of young people in the same way as they value the contributions of adults

Source: ”Keeping it Real”:A resource for involving Young People

These resources are also available in the library:

New Zealand Youth Affairs - "Keepin it Real"

A resource for Young People

Our Work for Councils

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Definitions:

Benefits for Young People

Benefits for Local Government

Develop a better understanding of governance processes

contribution to community

connectivity to community as a whole

individual and group skills and capacity building

personal development

a developed sense of ownership

Increase in control over what happen to them and what happens around them

Better decisions are made

appropriate infrastructure built, based on community needs

money saved

fresh and creative ideas developed

a commitment obtained from young people to their community

a connection between young people with Local Government if forged

a diverse and more interesting community is fostered

Participation is by Choice

Young people need to know they can choose to be involved, or not involved - there will be no repercussions

Participating is Enjoyable, Challenging and Fun

If they have a good experience participating, they are more likely to continue to be involved

Young People's Awareness is Raised

Raising awareness of social, political and personal issues helps young people develop and leads to more informed decision-making

Real Issues are Covered

We are all interested in issues that affect us directly, so involvement must be related to issues perceived as real by the participating group

Values and Culture are Acknowledged

Any form of participation must respect that young people come from a range of cultures and ethnicities, and have different values, beliefs, expectations and experiences

Relationships are Built

Providing time for building relationships strengthens participation

Young People Feel a Sense of Belonging and Security

Young People are more likely to fully participate if they have a sense of belonging in a group and know they will be safe

Adults are Committed

Adults working with young people need to understand, and be committed to, youth participation

Adequate Resources are Provided

Organisations can show commitment to young people’s involvement by providing adequate resourcing, including time, space, transport, funding, information and feedback

Contributions are Valued

Organisations need to value the contributions of young people in the same way as they value the contributions of adults

Benefits for
Young People

Benefits for
Local Government