Strategic Planning with Youth

[Amanda Fenton]

From the email list March 2013...

Hello mates and friends,

I'm peeking my head out to see what this amazing community has to contribute to this inquiry... I was wondering if any of you had information, videos, examples of AoH being utilized with youth to do some strategic planning on how to create a healthy community where all youth are thriving and growing up healthy? The efforts here are working to make sure this is youth-led (by youth they mean ages 12 - 24). Thank-you for all the learning and sharing this email list provides! 

Most Sincerely,

Katie

---------------

Hello Katie,

We've used AoH a great deal in working with young people in Ontario, Canada. I don't have a video to share, and I'm not sure our materials will help, but would be happy to connect to share more information. We've used AoH to form and maintain a provincial collaborative - the Youth Social Infrastructure Collaborative (which Tim Merry had a great deal of involvement in) - this group recently held a core team retreat (fully using AoH design and facilitation) and used this to begin a Development Evaluation process; I've used AoH in work with Board and young people through my work at the Laidlaw Foundation; and most recently, we have used AoH combined with theory u on a youth change lab in Toronto, in partnership with the City and local United Way...with the aim of creating collective vision for healthy outcomes for all youth. This is an emerging initiative that is aiming to have collective impact across the city. The short comment on those experiences, is that AoH is very effective in work with young people - it's easy for them to plug into and creates a way for all voices to be heard, for young people to feel equal in their participation.  Something we learned from all the beautiful AoH stewards, but have also made a regular practise - we always include young people as apprentices when designing and facilitating. 

Very best,

Violetta

---------------

Katie…what if you hosted a virtual collective story harvest with youth practitioners in your area.  You could have Violetta and others join by Skype and have your group engage in the story process.

So much of what we are learning in this world is new knowledge and is not documented too well, but the stories are powerful.  I think we could do well to offer ourselves out as storytellers to each other and the gift of collective harvesting means that a group of learners can make this knowledge visible and usable right away.

Chris

----------------

I haven’t done much with youth, but let me put my hand up to be one of the harvesters.  I’ve used Collective Story Harvesting over Skype and it worked well.

Mary Alice

----------------

Here in Tacoma Washington we did a few years of work building youth and adult partnerships to address Youth Violence. 

 

Here’s the link to the report on my website on the projects page:  http://www.emergingwisdom.net/projects/ 

 

Lots of significant change including creating a youth philanthropy board to direct the funding in the city from the community foundation and the Gates Foundation. 

Teresa

---------------

To add to this thread, here is harvest of some community work at a middle school that I am continuing with this year in Utah with my friend Carla Kelly. Strengthening a core team to work with bullying prevention in the school and community.

Tenneson

[Pawa]

I do tonnes of work with youth and Art of Hosting is a foundational practice for all of it. I am interested to explore this more with you Amanda, et al, if you still have energy for it :) perhaps a Skype? or a follow up Skype if I missed the first one.

[Janet Blayone]

I would be interested in listening in (or dialoguing if that suits better) to this conversation if it happens and if that is acceptable to both of you.