Agenda - 05-30-1996 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Numerous need assessments on youth may, have been and are being done by special i lle Chapel Hill NeWS youth-serving programs. In 1988 the com- Thursda November 23 1995: n"u"tY held a successful forum of youth Thursday, > caretakers and youth-serving organiza- tions. The forum identified and addressed a number of youth issues.One recommen- dation from this forum involved creating Let's bring some form of representative youth council or youth congress that could speak on behalf of youth and represent their inter- ests. In 1991 there was a community task yo � n force that appraised and made recommen- V dadons regarding youth violence in Chapel Hill. One recommendation of this task force was to create a youth services coordi- nator position in the community to coordi- nate the many youth service resources. A product of the spring 1995 explo- { Invite youth to the community table? ration was a strong recommendation that Ask them to develop and communicate any youth forum should be a forum of community agendas? Ridiculous ! A and by youth instead of a forum on youth. waste of time! Especially in a community . In other words, the forum should be that has so many experts who earn then youth-planned and . directed. It also living representing should be an opportunity for youth to youth solutions or GUEST develop their own agendas and be able to needs! Why not just communicate those agendas to communi- i ask the experts? COLUMN ty leaders in a public manner. The agen- Contrary to this das should be more focused on the com- more traditional BY PHIL COOKE; munity than on school,and identify both ' practice of asking positive and negative concerns. The Adult experts about forum would not be another need study, youth, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro-Orange but would explore how youth could part- County Public-Private Partnership (PPP); ner with the community. t is exploring ways and mechanisms that' The organizing and planning of the the youth of. our communities can bg youth forum is now under way. Former engaged to communicate their concerns county commissioner and PPP board and issues.It is an exciting venture! member Verla Insko is coordinating the In October 1994, members of PPP trav initiative.Graduate School of Social Work r eled to Bloomington,Ind.,to explore tha4 intern Joan Uhrich is staffing the effort. community's programs and approaches Local businessman Mark Rhodes is pro- that addressed youth.The trip also served viding the training and technical support as an opportunity for local citizens an4 needed for a youth-directed canvas and t community leaden to examine how we a� agenda building process. a community (or communities) address The Chapel Hill-Orange County com- youth issues and concerns.' 1 munity is blessed with many resources Many of us were impressed with`ho,,,W not found in other communities of similar well Bloomington had engaged its youth iri size or otherwise. Present in the commu- the planning and operation of youth pro, I nity is a large youth-serving industry. grams and services. Citizens;'youth carei Many persons earn their living creating takers and youth had developed a kind and real or symbolic products for youth or quality of partnership that was very attract youth-serving enterprises.The communi- five.In response to these observations,ou; ty also is known for its academic and sci- local delegation made the decision tq entific contributions. Both of these arenas explore ways we as a community can follow the principle of objectification — enhance our partnership with youth i separating subject and object for under- During last spring, meetings were held standing and experimentation. with a wide range of youth-serving orga; At the collective level there is often the nizations and professionals concerning the tendency to regard youth as objects of sponsorship of some type of youth forum; inquiry, recipients of programs, or as a PPP board member Bill Farley also held 4 population in trouble.Added to this is the number of meetings with parent groups reality that a sizable portion of our com- and school officials. This exploration fol' munity population is trained to solve lowed the principle that any forum spon, problems and communicate ideas or solu- sored by PPP should build upon prior and tions, rather than to listen. (This adds up existing efforts by the community td to a situation where many people repre- appraise youth issues. Another principle sent youth with many different and com- guiding the exploration was that a youth peting agendas.) Can we as a community forum did not have to be a problem-ori- create an opportunity for youth to be ented affair but could be an opportunity to heard? I think ive can and so does PPP! I ) identify and affirm community strengths. � Phil Cooke is n professor in the ZINC School 31 r Sc rinl i��•i: