How youth voice can restore authenticity and values in your environment.
Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of spending time in some fantastic spaces with amazing people. In parallel, as a p/t solo Father with a talented daughter, I’ve been on a mission to enable Emma to smash through any glass ceiling she encounters. This is what I’ve learnt taking her into spaces usually primarily the domain of adults. As we watch the youth of today hold our global governments responsible for climate, my challenge to you is how are you enabling youth voice in your space.
Youth Voice Simplifies The Real Issue; This Carries The Intent Forward
Through a series of circumstances via OMGTech and InternetNZ NetHui, and due to some international travel plans, Emma & I ended up sitting in on the morning session with a panel about privacy. If you’ve never been, for question time, Michelle Acort takes out a large pink dice which is a microphone. It’s soft, can be thrown to someone sitting in the middle of an aisle. Then when it is time for questions from the panel, Emma asked for the dice. I’ll be completely honest, I didn’t see her asking for the dice, and I had to quieten my mind and just let her be. She knew what she was doing. Up until this point, every audience member had commented. Now Emma spoke up, “I’m 9 years old, what is important for me?” - To which John Edwards spoke eloquently addressing her concern and providing a highly relevant response. Emma followed the intent of the session, asking a question, to which the panel could respond. Up until this point, everybody else was simply sharing their opinions. We were not there to hear the audience opinions; that’s why we had a panel of experts. Instead of a debate about opinions, the panel was able to provide some insight and a solution to help Emma.
Youth Voice Brings True Authenticity To The Conversation.
For those of you that know me, you know I’m a bit of adrenaline junky, my new daily driver is an electric longboard that goes over 42Km / hr, and I get to ride it down five hills on the way to my office. Last year I was teaching Emma to ride a mountain bike, and she absolutely hated going downhill. You can’t imagine two more different approaches to taking a risk. Because I solo parent every second week and due to fortunate kindness of Nat and Janine, I was able to bring Emma to Kiwifoo, New Zealand’s leading Unconference. I was co-hosting a session about Fear of Failure / Enterpurial support with Anna and a few others when after 45mins in, Emma decides to speak. “My dad doesn’t get it, I’m afraid of going downhill”, and I could feel my heart rate rising but having seen how things occurred at NetHui I kept myself calm and chilled to see how things played out. Emma admitted a real fear, one she hadn’t come to terms with yet. One of the teachers in the room responded and gave advice much better than anything I could come up with. Again, the mood shifted. There was a sense of calm and the group realised we all have our fears. As the energy of the room shifted to care for the younger one, the authenticity of her voice grounded the conversation and provided an awareness that we’re all the same, dealing with the same fears, needing the support of others to overcome barriers.
Youth Voice Is Representative & Values Lead
Many of you in my network have had the chance to meet Emma. She comes with me pretty much everywhere. This year for my birthday I decided to venture home to where I was born and took a road trip down the South Island with dear friends Daniel and Donna. We ended up in Glenorchy at the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, Fellows Hui.Familiar with these types of spaces and because Deborah Crowe had her son Mani in the space, they had mutual support. Emma and Mani contributed to conversations, community building and setting values. They choose to opt-in and opt-out when they felt like it. Many of the fellows commented on how eloquent Emma was, and she is. She’s quick, she has good genes and the memory of a grandmother who was one of New Zealand’s leading female lawyers. But she’s still just 11, and I started realising that while others think she is amazing, she’s actually just a representative of the values of anyone her age and has been coached by me to speak about them. Having Emma in the space shows me, it was critical to recognise that all of our youth values are closely on making decisions based on social purpose and intent to protect paptuanuku. There is no ambiguity between profits or pollution. The youth of today, thanks to the likes of Frasier & Alex think about the environment first and foremost and understand the dire nature of the climate emergency. Mani and Emma were a grounding force in the space to hold the community to account to the real issues. As adults, we can complicate our work but when a youth voice is enabled, the simplicity of what’s important is so easy to see. It provides an awareness of what we should all be working towards.
Nadia Armelin from Cohort 5 (Kohia) introduces Emma at the Fellows Hui in Glenorchy
Final Thoughts
How often do you think about the impact of the project that you are working on, affecting papatuanuku and what is our role in protecting our tamariki’s future? You don’t have to bring your children into work every day, and I’m not suggesting we hold open spaces for kids. I’m saying we need to think accurately about making more of the spaces that we are having serious conversations in safer and more accessible to integrate youth voice into space; and then when they choose they can to check out, or just chill in a wellbeing space or anywhere they feel comfortable. Sometimes we’re too boring for them, and we over complicate things. Plus if you’re interested in getting more involved in STEM Education checkout OMG, Voluntari.ly, Flint or GirlBoss.*The spaces mentioned above are safe spaces where wellbeing and diversity principles are practiced actively. I’m grateful to be a part of communities that recognise me for being the whole person (including being a dad).