photo by Sonya Reynolds, SKETCH

We asked Kerry Boileau, facilitator of SKETCH’s Acting Out program, to share some reflections and tips for creating space that engages and empowers youth. 

Here’s an expert from “Engaging & Empowering Youth”: 

1: PAY YOUTH FOR THEIR EXPERTISE!

If we are doing planning and decision making, we pay youth for their expertise. This is really basic.  It’s important for youth to know that their input is valued. In order to engage youth, the programs you have on offer have to be interesting to young people, and so you have to have heard from young people from the get go!

2: INVITATIONAL WELCOME

The way we welcome people into the space is important. We say, “Welcome! This is a place where you can do a whole bunch of cool stuff.”  You are always striving, striving to create diverse inclusion. There’s a trajectory, and that’s the beginning.

There’s a kind of invitational welcome where I’ll say what my gender pronouns are, right off the get-go. Whether the person says, “Oh, my name is so and so and my gender pronouns are …” or they say, “What are you talking about?”.  Either way, you are helping someone to feel safe or opening up space for conversation later.

Click here for the full ArtBridges Tips & Tools: Engaging and Empowering Youth. For more FREE resources and tools like this, please visit the ArtBridges Resource Portal or reach Skye Louis, ArtBridges Info Resource Developer at skye@artbridges.ca.

The ArtBridges Tips & Tools Series is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and translated with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage Interpretation and Translation grant.

Kerry Boileau has a wide range of experience working with young people, that spans over 25 years.  She is a facilitator of the Acting Out program at SKETCH where she has been a facilitator and program coordinator since 2002. Kerry also teaches in the Child and Youth Care program at Humber College (2012-present). Her passion for collaborative creation and youth engagement is rooted in a commitment to social justice and anti-oppression practices.