Youth and Adult Partnerships in Meetings

• Remind people that all of the work is done in partnership between youth and adults and that we need to be aware of how we are communicating and treating others all of the time.
• Avoid using language that is hard to understand, including technical words and acronyms. Make sure you ask if you do not understand words or concepts.
• Be aware of people’s time constraints for doing activities, and be aware of how they are being divided up. Make sure that the fun tasks and the drudge tasks get divided fairly between adults and youth. Don’t just dole out menial tasks to youth, thinking that they will do better with the easier duties.
• Make time for fun. Volunteers need to have fun to keep motivated. Having fun is a great way to break down youth-adult stereotypes.
• Recognize and praise good ideas and accomplishments.
• Make sure meetings lead to action. At the end of the meeting, clarify who will do what.
• Rotate leadership roles and facilitator roles in meetings. Youth should get a chance to try out all roles if they want to. Everyone can learn leadership skills “on the job”.
• Keep it short and take breaks.
• Schedule meetings at times when youth can attend!
• Be sensitive to people’s reluctance to record action in front of the group. Both youth and adults may be self-conscious about their spelling. You may need to make a rule that correct spelling is not necessary!

Source: The Innovation Center, Building Community: A Tool Kit for Youth and Adults, Chevy Chase, MA