“Collaborators”, “Guides”, “Facilitators”, and “Advocates”: Using a Spatial Lens to Understand the Roles of NGO Practitioners in Supporting Youth Participation

Abstract

AbstractYouth participation has become an increasing focus for international development programs in the Global South. However, in the home, as well as in the community and formal decision-making spaces, traditional norms often dictate that young people are expected to refrain from raising their views. This presents a dilemma for NGO practitioners who are working with communities on youth participation initiatives. In this paper, I explore the valuable insights of a small number of NGO practitioners who face this dilemma in their practice. I argue that a spatial lens is critical to understanding the key challenges and complexities of youth participation. Particularly, it is essential to understand that practitioners can contribute to the distanciation of the resources, discourses, and practices that enable young people’s participation in intergenerational spaces with adults. I suggest that NGO practitioners can play four key roles, as collaborators, guides, facilitators, and advocates, in different spaces and contexts. By taking on these various roles, they can contribute to young people’s empowered participation. While this study is focused on the context of international development initiatives, the findings can also be applied broadly to initiatives focused on youth participation.