GLOSSARY

Youth Friendly messaging centres around approachable and accessible language that promotes inclusive and anti-oppressive values. In other words, some terms and concepts to remain mindful of when engaging with young people.

Accountability
The acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, decisions, and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for all outcomes. This includes accepting responsibility for the outcomes of any activities intended to engage youth in a meaningful way and to the relationship developed with youth through the process.

Anti-Oppression
The recognition of systems of oppression that exist in society, understanding of how they affect the diverse youth we are trying to engage and finding ways to equalize the power imbalance in decision-making spaces.
As a youth friendly organization, aim to be accountable to young people who have less access to power and resources due to sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and classism.

Authenticity
Being true to one's values, promises, mission and vision when creating initiatives and opportunities. Authenticity helps youth connect to a brand and bring valuable ideas for an organization to achieve its goals.

Barriers
The diverse sets of challenges (financial, cultural, educational) faced by people based on their multiple social identities that affect their ability to participate in programs, projects and initiatives in their communities, with institutions and in our democracy.

BIPOC
Black, Indigenous, People Of Colour. When engaging BIPOC youth, it is important to understand, empathize with and take into account lived realities, and the many barriers that they face when it comes to participation.

Change-Maker
Someone actively engaged and dedicated to coming up with solutions for social change at all levels of civic participation, be it in their communities, institutions and in our democracy.

Civic Engagement
AKA civic participation, is any individual or group activity (think youth forums, council meetings, mass protests) that addresses issues of public concern to protect public values, make a change or a difference in their communities, and ultimately in our democracy.

Citizen
Going beyond formal citizenship (i.e. being a Canadian citizen, voting, etc.), a citizen is someone belonging to a community in which they have a vested interest in weighing in on debates and matters that concern them.

Community
A social unit of people who gather because they share common ties (religion, values, customs, or identity, such as nationality or ethnicity). Youth can create their physical communities based on geography, or virtual communities based on shared interests on social platforms.

Consultation
An event where a group can survey and gather input from a target audience on diverse matters (ex. new program development, feedback on existing programs/projects or policy proposals, product launch, etc). Best practices for consultation include transparency and clarity about the goal of the process and any limitations to the impact the target audience can have on the outcome.

Culture
A dynamic, transforming and collective mindset applied to all people within a community, organization, or institution which shapes policies, procedures and ways individuals interact with each other. How your organization’s culture supports with adapting to change and new ideas of growth and direction will determine whether or not it is a good fit for youth participation.

Decolonizing
The process of deconstructing colonial ideologies of the superiority and privilege of Western thought and approaches while actively and purposefully recentering Indigenous practices and voices in decision-making spaces.

Democracy
A process in which each individual is granted the same rights and privileges to participate in shaping the future of an organization, a community, a nation. Young people participate better when they are shown their voices, among older adults, are equally important and heard.

Design Thinking
A methodology that provides a solution-based approach to problem solving. This requires 4 important steps to achieve a solution that benefits all stakeholders : Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver. Learn more about Community Design Thinking!

Diversity
The differences in language, ethnicity, socio-economic background, ability, gender, sexual orientation and identity, and age that exist within a given population. These factors should all be taken into account when creating decision-making spaces in social and political settings.

Empowerment
The act of providing a person or a group of people with resources, knowledge, support and authority to perform a task or take the lead in their workplace, education and/or communities. Reinforcing the notion that youth have the power to lead is the first step in empowering them.

Experience
Knowledge and skills acquired through work, school, and volunteering in a certain domain. Experience can evolve, be shared and transformed by opportunities of collaboration.

Framework
The basic structure, or blueprint, underlying a concept, and idea or process. Ex. The Canadian Constitution serves as a framework for how our government works.

Gatekeeping
The withholding of knowledge, resources, and (decision-making) power by older generations or organizations to limit the growth or advancement of newcomers / young people to positions of power and leadership.

Inclusion
Creating a space that is intentionally designed to actively welcome people from different backgrounds to share true opportunities and diverse perspectives with equal voices, without biais, discrimination or tokenizing.

Innovation
Acceptance and application of a new idea, approach, way of thinking that challenges the status quo. Young people are disposed to a unique psychological makeup that enables them to be innovative in ways older adults can't. Through their use of technology and other modern tools, they pave new paths for themselves and their communities.

Institution
A society or organization founded to purposefully serve a religious, educational, or social sector. Longstanding institutions can be reimagined and innovated by youth to better reflect them and adapt to their vision for the future.

Intentional
Designing, developing and implementing an idea, a process to purposefully follow-through. Being intentional in engaging and empowering youth within an organization or community starts with investing in new and dynamic outreach approaches.

Intergenerational
The building of connections and sharing knowledge between generations without fear, assumptions, or age-based biases. Understanding the value of the experience unique to generations and being able to share this knowledge is key to building a sustainable society.

Knowledge Holder
A person who’s acquired knowledge through studies or life experiences in any field and is in a position to share their knowledge and wisdom with others. Does not need to be an older person.

Leadership
The way a person or a group of people guides and leads others with empathy, honesty and respect while offering opportunities for growth, advancement and skill development.

Mentorship
A relationship based on relatability and mutual respect between an expert and a person who is new to the domain/sector with the goal of transferring knowledge and supporting the apprentice’s growth and development. Mentorship programs work better when a young person can see themselves in their mentors and are approached in a non-patronizing way.

Opportunity
Circumstances created by people in positions of power to promote meaningful advancements and growth. Creating real opportunities for youth within our society means actually wanting them to succeed and seeing them become leaders.

Partnership
A working relationship between two or more parties, built on trust and transparency, to provide each other with support, resources and work collaboratively towards a common goal. When calling a young person your partner, it is important to be clear on the nature of everyone’s contributions and the outcomes of the partnership.

PoP (Position of Power)
The authority and influence a person gains through a title to control and take major organization-wide decisions that impact others directly or indirectly (decisions such as an organization's finances and direction). Can also apply to a community leader, an elected official and corporate leaders.

Representation
Being the spokesperson for a group of people or organization that accurately reflects their identities, image and values. A plan to reach a specific audience needs to take into account the representation of that audience within your organization. For example, to attract more youth to participate in your programs, it helps to have young staff members and volunteers already present in your organization.

Social Values
Key concepts, such as duty, religiosity or creativity, that a person or a group of people either embrace or reject. They represent a person’s priorities, motivations, as well as their strongly held beliefs. We apply our approach to engaging youth by studying and understanding their social values, what is important to them and how we speak to those interests.

Transparency
The honest and clear sharing of motives, plans, expectations and limitations of a given process or project. Transparency is the base of trust-building.

Tokenism
The symbolic and superficial involvement of a person or group of people in the decision-making process in ways that keep them powerless, under-informed and unaccountable. Displaying youth during a press conference to promote an initiative without actually answering questions about their involvement and contribution is an example.

Trust Building
The development of trust between different groups of people, founded on honesty, mutual respect and transparency. Demonstration of follow-through on written policy or best practices when it comes to youth engagement helps build trust between organizations and young people.

Youth
Young people aged 18-35 (generations including Millennials and Gen Z) from all walks of life, diverse ethno-socio-economic backgrounds living in Canada.

Youth Engagement
The active participation of youth in society and democracy leading to positive social change. Many young people are shifting to more unconventional forms of civic participation that draw on media, community engagement and cultural production to engage in new forms of political discourse.

Youth-Led
Within an organization, young people comprise the majority of the board of directors, staff members and volunteer base of the organization. Initiatives are also youth-led when young people are the ones making decisions not only about content and activities but also how resources are used and allocated. Their decisions and actions speak to the audience they are trying to reach and engage.