Final Set of Feedback from "What Can Communities Look Like When They Really Respect Youth?"

This is the third and final post of the feedback we received from the comment cards participants submitted. Remember that you can download the entire set in PDF format from our website. Go here .

What is one thing you liked about this forum?

Opportunity for dialogue between youth and adults

• I liked hearing the passion and commitment to change in the youth. I also liked hearing from other community members working on youth issues on the ground.
• Conversation with youth at the table.
• I enjoyed the small group discussions, and especially listening to the children.
• Sitting together among young people and exchanging feelings about the topic. Allowing the youth to give their views and know they were heard and respected.
• I liked the idea that the young people got an opportunity to voice their opinions and to talk about issues that affect them alongside with adults.
• A spirited exchange of ideas amongst the youth and adults on respect and other issues.
• The opportunity to listen to youth (although they didn’t get enough airtime).
• Conversation with young people. There should be more opportunity to engage with them.
• Talking about young people WITH young people.
• I liked the idea of youth and adults to come together.
• I enjoyed the discussion. I find it interesting to listen to youth that I’m not usually exposed to.
• I like the fact that youth were allowed to talk and voice their opinion, it’s not often that there is a chance to do this! So I thought it was okay!
• I liked how adults didn’t try to shut the youth down. They actually listened to what we were saying. I’m curious to see if they will walk away having learned something that they can implement into their schedules.
• That we are able to express our concerns about our community involvement. Also, the youth did speak about their concerns.
• Talking about what youth think about their everyday life and thoughts.
• Talking with the youth. It was eye opening and hopeful to find such articulate, caring youth.
• I liked the fact that no one was shy. It was very easy to get comfortable and talk with the older people of my community. It was also nice to see that they were interested in hearing what I had to say and my concerns and insight about my community.
• I liked the opportunity to talk with youth that are affected by the decisions we make as adults. It was good to hear from older generations, the shift in time and what they would like to see youth do.
• I really liked the opportunity to exchange ideas with young people.

Youth as a forum topic

• Nice to think about these topics.
• The discussion. People truly putting our ideas of problems ~ systemic effects on youth issues. To recognize that people are knowledgeable about youth
• I enjoyed the open discussion about youth life. I felt like my voice was heard.
• I liked how the youth got to put their idea out. I have wanted to talk about issues in the communities, but really didn’t have a place to do it.
• That we can talk about the neighborhood and to respect children.
• The fact that we were asked to share what we thought would make a better community that includes the youth.
• The topics that were discussed which are very important.
• I liked how they involved children into many of the situations and took it upon themselves as a topic to discuss.

Meeting new people

• I met people committed to young people and making change. It was inspiring.
• Networking.
• Great to meet others from the community
• I was really happy that there were other youth.
• I always like to meet new people and hear stories about different people in different places.
• The opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds and experiences and share ideas on community challenges and opportunities for improving community life.
• I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet people who are interested in community issues as well as share my experiences with the group. I am hopeful for future forums.
• I met new neighbors!

Opportunity for dialogue generally

• Open communication amongst all of the parties involved.
• Our table had a good mix of people, and the discussion was lively.
• Great conversation. Wonderful to hear others’ stories.
• Ability to share ideas.
• I liked the discussions – the ability to learn from different people about their experiences.
• I liked how I got to speak my mind about youth life today!
• The open dialogue between all sitting at the table. Adults, youth and agency workers.

Facilitation

• I like the way the discussion was very open and I could speak my mind.
• A thing I liked is that we can talk about something that we didn’t have to keep to ourselves.
• Good design.
• Everyone had an equal chance to communicate with one another.
• The ease in which the diversity of people could contribute stories and ideas and how well the groups listened to each other.
• Excellent format!
• The small group discussions were good. A great size for getting real communication.
• I really enjoyed the atmosphere – serious but comfortable.
• Information flow and sharing was good.

Questions Asked

• I really appreciated the questions that were asked, especially the intro questions, they were very interesting.
• I also loved the questions.
• I liked the questions that were laid out, it kept the conversation flowing.

Discussion outcomes

• Development issues and the lack of respect in schools. How to build community.
• That we can try to make the community a better place for youth. We need to have more after-school programs for young people.
• It was very eye-opening. It helped me learn about how tough the world can be.
• Helped dissect what we as people need – which helped think through what youth need.

Overall

• The fact that it happened!!
• Central facility. Great food.
• Keep having these sessions. I will come.
• Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was great!
• I think the forum went very well. It was my first time and I enjoyed myself and hope to return to the next one.
• It was great. I think we should do this more than once a year.
• Thank you.