Last month, partners across Power to You(th) joined together in Nairobi, Kenya, for a 4 day symposium on the Gender Transformative Approach (GTA) in the programme.
Representatives from each of the 7 countries shared their GTA challenges, successes and learnings, as well as the initiatives and activities they have implemented to challenge harmful gender norms and work towards a gender just society. As part of this symposium, members of the Global Youth Group and the GTA Technical Working Group (TWG) leveraged on this opportunity for mutual learning and knowledge sharing by collaboratively facilitating a session on the similarities between Meaningful and Inclusive Youth Participation (MIYP) and GTA, and how we can integrate both approaches in our work.
To start this session, the participants reflected on their own non-negotiables for MIYP, and developed a shared definition of the approach.
Young people in all their diversity meaningfully participate in all stages of decision-making!
Using this understanding of MIYP, the group discussed why MIYP is important in our Power to You(th) work, identifying it as crucial for; achieving SRHR outcomes, strengthening organisational capacity, positively impacting the development of young people, benefiting society in general, and in most basic form, participation is a human right.
Whilst there are many different tools used for assessing and identifying different forms of MIYP, the Flower of Participation was chosen for this session as it builds on learnings of the other existing MIYP models. The Flower of Participation was well-known by many of the participants and they could identify the different components of the model, such as the core elements of MIYP:
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Freedom of Choice
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Information
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Voice
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Responsibility
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Decision-Making Power
After refreshing ourselves on the “what, why and how” of MIYP, the group reflected on how this relates to their GTA work. With the Flower of Participation and the Gender Equality Continuum Tool side-by-side, participants held insightful discussions on the similarities and linkages between these two approaches. Collectively, the following parallelisms were identified:
These conversations highlighted the different ways that our MIYP and GTA work interlink and can support one another. Participants individually reflected on how they can integrate MIYP in their GTA activities going forward, however, throughout the course of the symposium, it was inspiring to see many of the countries are already incorporating the two approaches together.
To come to the point, both MIYP and GTA apply an intersectional and transformative lens, looking not just at the challenges people face based on their age or gender, but actively working to address and positively change harmful norms around who gets to participate in decision-making and how. The more one practices applying this lens, the more critical one becomes within their discourse and around stereotypes, tokenism and non-meaningful participation within programming.
Resources: MIYP Tools
As well as the comprehensive Flower of Participation tool, there are a few other MIYP tools that PtY partners use in their work, which you can find in the table below.
MIYP tool name |
Organisation/Owner |
Link to tool |
Flower of Participation |
CHOICE |
|
Ladder of Youth Participation |
R. Hart |
https://149347946.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ladder-of-youth-participation.jpg |
MIYP Reflection Tool |
Generation G |
Still being drafted. |
MIYP Toolkit |
Rutgers |
Still being drafted. |
MIYP check list |
Sonke/PtY |
|
Changemaker Module |
Tanoker&YGSI |
Still being drafted. |
MYE Scorecard |
Y-ACT |
MEANINGFUL YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES - Y-ACT |