糖心传媒

Youth are increasingly featured in global development agendas (Biggeri and Arciprete 2022; Hart and Brando 2018; UNESCO 2021). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development formally recognised, for the first time, children and youth as 鈥渃ritical agents of change鈥� with 鈥渋nfinite capacities for activism into the creation of a better world鈥� (UN 2015, p.12). Since then, we have seen an explosion of foreign assistance projects and educational initiatives looking to develop youth agency and promote youth as partners and leaders of social change (see, for example, UNICEF 2022; UN 2021, 2022; USAID 2022). Education was named a core area for engagement (UN DESA 2018). My doctoral study explores how some of the interpretations of youth agency, as developed and used by international organisations and NGOs, resonate or not with local gender and education stakeholders, including youth, in crisis-affected contexts in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The study raises questions around how to engage with diverse youth populations and how global strategies that might enhance agency in one area of youth鈥檚 lives might reduce well-being or increase vulnerability in another (Crenshaw 1991; Kabeer 2020). As part of this study, and through the support of a 糖心传媒 student fieldwork grant, I conducted participatory arts-based research activities with youth involved in an NGO education project in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, to ask them about their interests and how they understood what it means to be a positive 鈥榓gent of change鈥� in their communities.

Connections and disconnections concerning youth agency in Central America

The research engaged 35 youth participants (ages 14 to 16) through creative thinking and arts-based exercises in six diverse educational settings across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. What emerged from the research were more consistent and aligned views among the youth participants in their abilities to make decisions for themselves. The youth participants clearly articulated their interests and what they wanted changed in their communities. They raised a broad range of issues related to resources (e.g., poor housing infrastructure and lack of clean water), public services (e.g., unsafe roads, limited access to health clinics and inadequate waste management), and public spaces (e.g., limited green spaces for recreation and relaxation).

Where the youth participants had more mixed views concerned their abilities to act and effect change in their communities. The youth participants raised a number of reasons for this, some of which varied by country contexts or were specific to certain individuals鈥� experiences. One theme, however, that emerged across all the countries related to community perceptions. How different community members regarded youth and youth ideas influenced the ways in which youth participants engaged, or not, in different social issues. An example of this is highlighted below through one of the stories shared by a youth participant in El Salvador.

Camilla鈥檚 story

Tucked away down a dirt road between two agriculture fields sits a small public school in a peri-urban community about an hour鈥檚 drive outside of the capital of San Salvador, El Salvador. Most of the children attending this school live near it, in an area known for issues of poverty, insecurity, and violence. Agriculture, farming, and a few nearby factories are the primary industries in the area. At this school, I worked with six students, asking them about issues in their community and what youth could do to address them. The students spoke about how their community has waste management issues and lacks clean water due to contamination from the factories.

Camilla*, one of the girls in the group, spoke passionately about her past involvement in a small grants competition funded by an international organization. She beamed with pride as she talked about how she and her friends designed a garbage and recycling project to improve the number of collection bins in and around the school. They pitched their project to the grants competition and won money and support from the international organisation to implement it. Camilla explained that they successfully implemented part of their project by adding collection bins in the school, but they were not successful at adding collection bins in the community because they needed permission from City Hall. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 take it seriously,鈥� Camilla explained, 鈥渢he paperwork had to be submitted by an adult for legal reasons, and [the adult] didn鈥檛 want to take my project seriously. Now, in the community, we still have problems with garbage and drainage鈥�.

Camilla鈥檚 experiences were mixed. She expressed joy and excitement over her involvement in the project, but she also expressed disappointment with some of the outcomes and how she was treated when she shared her ideas with members of City Hall.

Multiple layers of expectations

Camilla鈥檚 story underscores the different views community members have towards youth and youth ideas. In Camilla鈥檚 case, she spoke about the small grants project staff, her parents, other adults in the community, and herself. She talked about 鈥渢he outsiders,鈥� the small grants project staff that support her ideas but could not fully grasp the challenges in her community because 鈥渢hey do not live it鈥�. She spoke about her parents, and how they 鈥渄o ignore my opinion to some extent鈥�. She stressed that in the community, 鈥淚 need to have an adult next to me for my voice to be heard鈥�, and even then, 鈥淚 hear comments like 鈥榦h, these are young people鈥檚 issues鈥欌��they just generalise it and don鈥檛 give [my ideas] any importance鈥�. Camilla further reflected on these views in relation to herself: 鈥淚 feel that, based on my face, my attitude, they don鈥檛 take me seriously. When they ask something, I answer, and it just gets left in the air鈥�. She has internalised some of the rejection, blaming it on how she still looks and acts young.

Camilla’s different experiences at school, home, and the wider community created multiple layers of expectations concerning youth. In one space, Camilla鈥檚 ideas were supported by a small grants project that acknowledged her voice and agency; in another space, her ideas were dismissed as unimportant and trivial. The small grants staff supported her learning and helped her develop her ideas as an educational project, but they were not able to help her fully realise her goal of better waste management in the community. Youth participants in all three countries described the tensions created by mismatched expectations at multiple levels. Many youth participants expressed disappointment with how their family, friends or members in the wider community have received their ideas in the past, which impacted how they addressed challenges and navigated their lives in the present.

Visions for the future

This research offers a few considerations for international organisations and NGOs considering conducting small grants competitions or other educational initiatives to develop youth agency and promote youth as partners and leaders of social change in their communities. International organisations and NGOs might find it helpful to reflect on multiple layers of expectations, identify any points of mismatch, and then work with different community members to better align their views on youth and youth ideas. A more holistic, community-based approach might help to address some of the tensions caused by mismatched expectations and migrate some of the expressed disappointments or negative outcomes shared by many of the youth participants.

This is not to say that international organisations and NGOs should only engage with youth in ideal circumstances where all outcomes can be guaranteed. That would not mirror real-world realities, and there are educational benefits in facing and overcoming setbacks. What the research seems to suggest is that young people could benefit from projects being much more explicit about some of the structural and institutional challenges they might face when they discuss their ideas in different community spaces (e.g., school, home, City Hall). Project staff could also be more explicit about how and where to add support. This might help manage youths鈥� expectations and help prevent them from internalising some of the setbacks and disappointments as personal failings. This work requires a careful balance between contextually situating the project within the community, being clear with youth about expectations, and helping them stay motivated and hopeful despite setbacks.

In Camilla鈥檚 case, she remains motivated by her involvement in the small grants competition. She explained that she continues campaigning for better recycling and waste management at her school. 鈥淓ven if it鈥檚 little by little, [my actions] can make a small change; It doesn鈥檛 have to be drastic,鈥� she said. When asked if she believes young people like her have the power to achieve change in their communities, she strongly agreed. 鈥淥pportunities are opening up for young people in El Salvador when one has initiative not to give up, to achieve what one wants, and can dream for the future.鈥�

* The participant’s name has been changed to protect her identity.

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