ABC on how to plan a participation project with young people

How to collect ideas from young people

• individual/ group interviews
• questionnaires
• interactive and participatory exercises to get the group to come up with ideas together
•  find one thing in common in your group
• starts conversation about likes and dislikes, which can also help find ideas for the participation project
• every person has to participate to the conversation
• remember to consider the group of young people in question and reflect which works best for this group especially

How to make sure everybody is heard and gets a voice

• guide and facilitate, don’t speak on behalf
• exercises that require everyone to participate and talk
• picture cards that everyone needs to choose one card from that describes e.g. their mood at the moment, their interests, their dislikes, their family…
• trust-building exercises to make the individuals more secure to speak their mind

How to encourage young people to form ideas to topics that are useful/ relevant/ interesting to them

• ask from the young people themselves about their interests
• be interested and show it sincerely
• ask follow-up questions
• be active and up to date about young people’s interests, but don’t assume on the basis of e.g. social media
• help the young people reflect why something is important to them to create a reason for them to hold on to and promote it
• help the young people understand why it is important that their voice is heard
• young people should have an impact on matters that regard themselves

What kind of obstacles may appear and how to react to them

• lack of interest
• don’t set too high expectations and goals at start
• start small and simplify the topic to make it easier to approach - participation as a term can sound very intimidating
• motivate the group by e.g. examples of successful participation stories so they understand what their voice can and should accomplish
• disagreements
• give space for disagreements to get different opinions and intensity towards the topic, but don’t let it get to the point where it is crucial for the group
• reflect on the disagreements
• why it is good to have different opinions and discuss them
• disagreements are not the same as fighting and that is prevented from happening
• importance of hearing each other and not talk over
• make sure the disagreements don’t create voids
• set a goal that guidelines the project and while solving disagreements, the conclusion should support the goal
• remember to take everyone into account and maintain a good team spirit with e.g. having some group forming exercises every time the group meets
• miscommunication 
• maintain the project well structured with a clear frame and set goal that guides back into the topic