The current state of youth engagement
With 42% of the global population under 25, local governments face a critical opportunity to tap into fresh perspectives. Yet research shows that millennials and Gen Z residents encounter significant barriers when trying to engage with their local authorities – from poor communication to opaque processes and limited information access.
This disconnect isn't due to youth apathy: 76% of young people simply believe local officials don't listen to their input. The consequences are evident: Next100 and GenForward research shows trust in local government stands at just 29% among young adults, with only 12% participating in traditional civic activities.
Why traditional engagement falls short
Traditional engagement methods often unintentionally exclude young people. Young people want to be part of shaping their communities. But too often, public engagement doesn’t feel made for them. The meetings are long. The language is formal. And the topics? Not always connected to their everyday lives.
Still, the interest is there. What’s missing is the invitation – and the format that works. The good news? Small, intentional shifts in your approach can dramatically improve participation.
Emily Nix (18) is a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Cunninghame South and the UK Youth Parliament for the West of Scotland. Justin Jones (16) is the Chairperson of the Irvine Youth Forum (a local body of youngsters representing the voice of young people at a local and national level). Both are also members and signatories of the North Ayrshire Youth Executive Committee, a group that regularly meets with the council. Justin and Emily have both actively been taking part in youth work programmes for several years. “The first time I spoke at a cabinet meeting, I was only eleven years old,” says Emily.
Raising awareness on mental health, alleviating poverty in schools, offering information on drugs and addiction, explaining how a participatory budget works… the ongoing youth initiatives in North Ayrshire focus on an extensive range of topics. “These issues are all interconnected,” says Justin. “There’s no way to treat diversity, poverty, and mental health as separate entities because they influence each other, and we can’t tackle one without the other.”
Justin and Emily aren’t just amplifying young voices in the local bodies and structures that allow it. They are actively involved in grass-root projects to improve the lives of young Scots in the area. It’s safe to say that many councils could learn from the leading example of the North Ayrshire council and its young residents, who get their hands dirty every day for the sake of their communities. That’s why we asked Justin and Emily to share a few things councils should know about engaging the youth. After all, “youngsters should be the first people to be consulted in matters that affect them, no matter how immature or uneducated they are.”
Engaging the youth means breaking a harmful tradition of exclusion
“Children must be seen, not heard.” Until not so long ago, this (outdated, terrible) phrase summarised the world’s general perspective on young people’s voices. Youth engagement is mostly a recent phenomenon, which councils are only now starting to embrace as a central part of their daily activities. Historically, young people have rarely—if ever—been consulted on the matters that affect them. And this, of course, has a significant impact on how they feel about participation to this day. “If you know you won’t be heard, what’s the point of forming opinions?”, wonders Emily. “Young people might not be seeking information about topics close to their hearts, simply because they feel their opinions won’t matter, anyway.”
It’s often said that young people are generally harder to reach and engage in community engagement projects. This is often falsely attributed to a lack of interest or motivation. It’s essential to realise that young people’s non-participation is not an intrinsic characteristic, but something they’ve been taught. Even today, young people are still, sometimes unconsciously, discouraged to raise their voice. Because even though the times are gradually changing, youth engagement is still not where it’s supposed to be. “Even now, young people are often not taken seriously by those in decision-making roles. Too often, youth engagement is still tokenistic—they are engaging us for performative reasons, but not actually taking our voices into account. And that’s just not right —we are constituents of the council, and they have the duty to listen to us,” says Emily.
Fortunately, if non-participation is not a problem inherent to young people, we can do something about it. By actively engaging and genuinely involving them in the matters that affect their lives, councils are ending a harmful tradition of exclusion and strengthening the democratic fabric of their communities.
Don’t wait for young people to participate – bring participation to them
For the above-mentioned reason, councils shouldn’t passively be waiting for young people to get involved. With the Joint Cabinet, the North Ayrshire Council, local members of the Scottish Youth Parliament, and the North Ayrshire Youth Executive Committee take matters into their own hands by visiting schools and organising conversation classes. Determined to let youngsters share ideas at their own pace, they lined the desks with paper tablecloth and asked them to jot down their ideas.
This kind of initiative doesn’t only effectively enable youngsters to open up, it also shows a real effort and investment on the council’s part. Meeting young people in their own environments and listening to what they have to say shows them your intentions are genuine.
Obviously, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s temporarily rather complicated to physically take your projects into schools or youth groups. But don’t let social distancing deter you from trying. In North Ayrshire’s first-ever digital Joint Cabinet, over 110 students took part in various discussions about the way the virus affects their “community, digital connectivity, employability, and wellbeing”.
Young people have a right to be heard on matters that affect them, and their contributions should be valued regardless of their age or experience level.
- Justin Jones
Make participation as informal as possible
According to Justin and Emily, getting involved should also be fun. The tablecloth anecdote in the previous section is a good example of an initiative that is effective yet informal. It’s really all about making participation as accessible as possible. “One of the best things about youth work is that it continuously inspires people to join us. We care a lot about the different causes and learn a lot while campaigning, but some youngsters just get involved to have fun and make friends. And that’s completely valid. We need to protect that informality, otherwise, we might scare people off. We are young, after all — we take youth work seriously, but that doesn’t mean we have to be serious all the time,” says Emily.
If you’re a council looking to engage local youth, this is an important thing to keep in mind. A copy-paste of previous participation projects or a one-size-fits-all approach simply won’t suffice when targeting multiple or younger age groups. And instead of expecting youngsters to adjust to projects that weren’t designed for them, think about what you as a council can do to tailor projects to their wants and needs. This might even help you inject a dose of fun into your general community engagement projects and lower the participation threshold for a more diverse range of adults as well.
You’ve got to realise you’ll never stop building these relationships. You must instil that confidence in each individual young person who comes along.
- Emily Nix
Young people will give it to you straight
Any age group or demographic can bring relevant insights to a community engagement project. After all, every group has particular experiences that shape their visions and opinions. Justin and Emily believe that young people’s position at the boundary between child and adult gives them a unique perspective. “As young people, we’re bound to be in between. We’re considered responsible enough for some things, too immature for others. It’s a bizarre limbo, but it helps us see things in a different light,” says Emily.
Because of their age, young people tend to be less enmeshed with the existing state-of-affairs. According to Justin, this makes them less likely to sugar coat their input. “Young people will tell it like it is,” says Justin. “It’s not about hurting feelings; it’s about seeing what’s wrong and putting it into words, and hopefully, into action.”
In short, engaging young people and gathering their opinions and ideas automatically injects your project with refreshing, relevant insights. And that, in turn, makes for policy-making that is not only more legitimate and supported but also simply more interesting and innovative.
7 more strategies for engaging young people
1. Don't assume you know what "young people" want
"Youth" isn't a monolithic group. A high school student, a young immigrant, and a recent graduate can have vastly different needs, constraints, and interests. Effective engagement starts with understanding these distinctions.
What works:
- Conduct a demographic analysis to identify different youth segments in your community
- Run listening sessions with diverse youth groups before designing engagement plans
- Create youth personas to guide your outreach strategy
Implementation guidance: Start by mapping the different youth constituencies in your community. Consider factors like age ranges, educational status, employment situation, and neighbourhood. Then, organise informal conversations with representatives from each group to understand their specific barriers to participation and topics of interest.
Start planning for real people you actually understand
Download Part 1 of our blended engagement guide to get practical tools – like our engagement persona worksheet – that help you turn abstract community groups into relatable, designable profiles.
Get the guide + worksheet now and create more inclusive, people-centred participation.
2. Partner with existing youth groups
Most communities already have robust networks where young people gather: schools, sports clubs, faith organisations, cultural groups, and youth-led initiatives. Rather than building parallel structures, leverage these existing relationships.
Practical steps:
- Map all youth-serving organisations in your community
- Approach leaders with clear, mutually beneficial partnership proposals
- Offer resources that strengthen their work while advancing your engagement goals
- Create formal partnership agreements with clear roles and expectations
Implementation guidance: Develop an asset map of youth-serving organisations in your community. Prioritise organizations that work with youth populations you haven't successfully engaged in the past. Approach these organisations not just as outreach channels, but as potential co-designers of your engagement process.
3. Connect to what they care about
Young people aren't motivated by abstract concepts like "civic participation." They engage when they see clear connections to issues that affect their daily lives and futures.
High-engagement topics for youth participants:
- Climate action and environmental justice
- Mental health resources and support
- Affordable housing and economic opportunity
- Transportation access and mobility options
- Public spaces and recreational opportunities
- Digital equity and technology access
- Arts, culture, and community identity
Implementation guidance: When framing engagement opportunities, explicitly connect the topic to issues young people have identified as priorities. For example, instead of inviting input on "zoning regulations," frame the conversation around "creating spaces where young people can afford to live and work."
4. Show how their input will matter
The biggest barrier to youth engagement might well be disillusionment. Young people often feel their input disappears without impact, creating a cycle of disengagement.
Accountability framework:
- Set clear expectations about decision-making authority upfront
- Create transparent tracking systems for all input
- Commit to reporting back within specific timeframes
- Document exactly how input influenced outcomes
- Acknowledge when youth recommendations weren't adopted (and explain why)
- Celebrate wins publicly and give credit to young contributors
Implementation guidance: Create a simple tracking system that documents all youth input and shows its status (under consideration, adopted, modified, or rejected with explanation). Share this tracking system publicly and update it regularly.
5. Mix methods: online and in-person
Digital-only or in-person-only approaches create unnecessary barriers. A multi-channel hybrid engagement strategy meets different needs and preferences.
Blended engagement toolkit:
- Quick digital polls for broad input
- Pop-up events in youth-centred spaces
- Peer-to-peer outreach through youth ambassadors
- Creative competitions (videos, art, writing)
- Youth-hosted podcasts or livestreams
- Gamified participation through challenges or competitions
- Hybrid workshops with both physical and virtual components
Implementation guidance: Design engagement processes that allow young people to choose their preferred participation method. Ensure that different input types (e.g., survey responses, workshop notes, online comments) can be integrated into a cohesive analysis framework so no voices are lost.
6. Invest in young leaders
One-off engagement creates limited value. Building a pipeline of young civic leaders creates lasting capacity and deeper engagement.
Leadership development framework:
- Structured training programs in facilitation and public process
- Paid positions for youth coordinators and facilitators
- Mentorship connections with decision-makers
- Clear pathways to formal advisory or decision-making roles
- Professional development and skill-building opportunities
- Recognition and credentials that support academic or career growth
Implementation guidance: Identify young people who show interest and aptitude for civic leadership. Create formal roles for them within your engagement processes, with appropriate training and compensation. Consider establishing a youth ambassador program that provides leadership development alongside practical engagement experience.
7. Be consistent, not just visible
Much like Rome, successful youth engagement isn’t built in a day. Or even two. “These things take time,” says Justin. “Empowering young people doesn’t just happen overnight. Do as much as you can, slowly but surely, but know you probably won’t be overwhelmed with responses the very first time you try something.” Engaging youth is a continuous effort that should lead to meaningful change. At its core, it’s all about building trust: you can’t expect young people to pour their hearts out if they’ve been told for decades their opinions don’t matter. How do you do build this trust? According to Justin, it’s quite simple: “make pledges, then deliver.”
Moreover, it’s important to know that building this trust will be a long-term commitment. It’s impossible to ever truly be ‘done’. “You’ve got to realise you’ll never stop building these relationships. You must instil that confidence in each individual young person who comes along,” says Emily. Sporadic engagement damages trust more than it builds it.
Consistency checklist:
- Maintain regular communication even between project phases
- Create predictable engagement rhythms (e.g., quarterly forums)
- Build engagement into ongoing programs, not just special initiatives
- Develop multi-year youth engagement strategies with stable funding
- Establish consistent staff relationships rather than rotating contacts
- Continuously evaluate and refine approaches based on feedback
Implementation guidance: Develop a youth engagement calendar that ensures regular touchpoints throughout the year, not just during specific projects. Create communication channels that remain active even when formal engagement processes aren't underway, allowing for relationship maintenance and informal feedback.
Want to dive deeper? Download our practitioner’s guide to meaningful youth engagement in local decision-making
Youth engagement is essential if you want to successfully tackle today’s challenges, and it’s something that takes real effort to get right. Download our practitioner’s guide to discover actionable strategies for youth engagement, avoid common pitfalls, and learn from successful case studies from our Go Vocal community.
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