WorldWide Web Wednesday -- Keys for Empowerment

On Wednesdays, I'd like to share useful information I've found on the Internet. If you discover a great article or site that relates to youth empowerment or positive youth development, please let me know and I'll link to it.

Today's search revealed an article about the Illinois Center for Violence Prevention a recipient of Youth Violence Prevention funding.

The article suggests four excellent keys to youth empowerment. I've included them here:

"1. Involve youth at every level of an initiative, including assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
2. Give youth the tools and means to understand and assess their community so that they can set goals and agendas for prevention and thus become responsible for change in their community.
3. Keep youth involved after they've "graduated" from the program; today's youth leaders will become tomorrow's adult leaders.
4. Diversify your trainings by appealing to all learning types; most important, make planning activities visual and stimulating. "

Sound advice, I believe.

You can read the complete article at the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention website.

education community prevention violence empowerment responsibility