Youth and government are two things which don’t ordinarily go hand in hand. In America, we have to be at least 18 to vote – the important prerequisite for the most important interactions with government. In America, there is no widespread model for youth-government engagement.

Things are a bit different across the pond. A decade ago the United Kingdom instituted a new way to bring youth and government together: the UK Youth Parliament (YP). The YP holds one session a year and each session is staffed by a retinue of youth 11 – 18 years old elected by their peers in local elections across the country. Voter turnout for each of the last two elections has been over 500,000 and they elected a body of 600 representatives.

What do they do? Exactly what parliament does: they meet and discuss issues important to the country. Every year they publish a manifesto (party platform, for Americans) detailing what they believe to be the most important issues facing youth in the UK. The manifesto sets the stage for debates and discussions at the Youth Parliament session.

What do the youth of UK want? Thanks to the Youth Parliament’s manifesto, it’s easy enough to tell. Certainly the manifesto is not all inclusive, and it is geared toward political and social issues instead of the economic solutions often preferred in regional development organizations, but there is a wealth of information in this document. Some sample concerns include:

* Negative portrayal of youth in media
* Keeping university tuition fees down
* Expansion of local government-youth interaction
* Rural development

We can’t just pay lip service to youth engagement. Youth are savvy enough to pick up on instances where adults are asking, but not listening. Case in point: In the USA, we sometimes have student members of school boards. These representatives very often have no voting rights, no committee memberships, and no authority. Ask the youth in these schools how much they care about being represented in this kind of structure.

By contrast, the UK invests legitimacy into youth councils and the YP. When a municipal government proposed budget cuts to youth related services, they required budget analysts and executives to justify these budget cuts to a local youth council. Ultimately this committee was charged with trimming down the budget in a way that preserved the most value for youth.

Although the YP has had its share of setbacks, it provides a number of benefits to youths and their communities. Participating youth are able to articulate policy preferences and have an organization which is responsive to their preferences. The community benefits by receiving additional feedback, which can be used to refine government services and the programs of community organizations.

Economic or business development firms may benefit from these kinds of organizations as well. Youth councils are potential sources of valuable marketing data and can also provide a channel of distribution for goods and services.

There are plenty of good ways to get a similar program started. Simply bringing together a number of youth and asking them to talk about their community is one way. In 2008 the McCook Economic Development Corporation brought together a number of youth to discuss ways to improve their rural Nebraska community. The result? McCook’s Young Leaders (MYL)– a non-profit organization composed youth and young adults. Since then, MYL has gone on to produce a large First Night festival. The youth had to write grants and request permits from the city.

Youth organizations are good for a lot of things and are not exceptionally tricky to establish. Community support and a little communication can go a long way. Ask anyone involved in the UK Youth Parliament.

~This blog post was originally posted to Dropping In (innotout.wordpress.com).

An interesting piece in the NYTimes on microfinance in the US that demonstrates the challenges for entrepreneurs in gaining access to capital in these difficult times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/business/smallbusiness/29sbiz.html?8dpc 

Here's an interesting piece on rural outsourcing - sending jobs to rural America - from CNNMoney.com. It references Onshore Technology Services, a company founded by Shane Mayes in rural Missouri, and the topic of one of the stories included in the library on our website.
http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/08/smallbusiness/rural_onshoring/index.htm

I have finally decided to go into business for myself but have it a roadblock. I shopped and shopped for a self-employed Medical Insurance and finally found a plan I could afford. But then I went to use it. The nearest in-network physician was 100 miles away. I didn't think to check that out when I signed up. Geez. Guess it is back to the drawing board.