What is Youth Engagement

Youth engagement is defined as the meaningful participation and continuous involvement of a young person in an activity with a focus outside of themself. Youth engagement means amplifying young people’s voices and creating safe spaces where they can discuss issues that affect their lives and take action. It focuses on empowering youth to contribute their ideas, perspectives, and skills, while encouraging them to take on roles of leadership and meaningful responsibility.

Defining ‘Youth’

In the context of youth engagement, youth are generally defined as individuals within the age range of 15 and 24. However, this can vary based on the specific context and projects.

The Youth Engagement Traffic Light (shown below) is a visual aid to help understand the continuum of positive and negative youth engagement approaches and to guide conversations for planning and organizing community and system level youth engagement.

Planet Youth Nipissing is committed to meaningful and broad-based youth engagement rather than relying solely on a formal youth advisory council.

Our goal is to hear from as many young people as possible, including those whose voices are often underrepresented. Rather than engaging only a small group of youth representatives or asking a few young people to participate at predominantly adult planning tables, we intentionally gather youth perspectives through multiple channels.

These include:

  • Planet Youth survey data that captures the experiences and perspectives of large numbers of students;
  • Data parties and facilitated discussions where youth help interpret findings and identify priorities;
  • Engagement activities at schools, community events, and youth-serving organizations;
  • Partnerships with existing youth councils, student leadership groups, and youth-led initiatives;
  • Ongoing conversations through organizations and settings where young people already gather and feel comfortable participating.

We believe the question is not simply whether youth are sitting at a planning table, but whether youth voices are genuinely influencing decisions. While youth representatives can be one valuable form of engagement, a small number of individuals cannot fully reflect the diverse experiences and perspectives of all young people. Planet Youth Nipissing prioritizes reaching a broad range of youth and bringing their insights into decision-making processes through multiple pathways for participation. This approach helps ensure planning and action are informed by the lived experiences of many young people across the community.

If you’d like to stay in the loop about exciting youth opportunities through Planet Youth Nipissing, this form is your chance to get connected. Simply leave your name and email below, and we’ll make sure you’re among the first to hear about paid and volunteer roles, engagement opportunities, and youth driven initiatives you can be part of. We will not use your information for any other purpose, and the info you share here is not connected to any other forms or surveys.