Beyond Tokenism

Participatory Evaluation Processes and Meaningful Youth Involvement in Decision-Making

Abstract

*Political Participation and Youth in Local Governance | Reports from the Field

Support for youth involvement in decision-making has grown as calls for participatory democracy have emerged from a number of social actors. Youth are now more involved—but are they involved meaningfully? This paper, based on the author’s 15 years of experience, proposes the use of participatory evaluation processes as one way to address this question. It suggests that implementing such processes is an effective way to support youth and adult practitioners’ critical reflection on what “meaningful” or “effective” youth involvement in decision-making means, and what it looks like. This article will explore these issues using the example of a sample evaluation process focused on youth councils used in a municipal government setting.