Youth role in disaster recovery
In the wake of natural disasters, communities struggle to find ways to rebuild and return to a normal way of life. Often, existing practices and policies are slow and inefficient.
Education Officer Chris Henderson believes the key to sustaining these recovery efforts is to involve local youth from the start and to foster innovative solutions.
Henderson works with Social Innovation, an organization that worked extensively on rebuilding projects in his native New Zealand following last year’s earthquakes. He was in Montreal recently to give a workshop on best practices in sustainable recovery initiatives.
Last week, Concordia NOW featured an interview with Henderson on lessons learned from disaster recovery efforts. This week, he shares his ideas about the role of young people can play in rebuilding communities.
Tell us about the youth projects in which you’ve been involved.
The Looking Beyond Disaster: UNESCO Youth Forum was the most meaningful project. It brought together 120 young people from 25 disaster-affected areas from across the globe for four days. We co-developed a United Nations-endorsed communiqué on youth expectations for participation and leadership in the post-disaster process. We constructed a series of youth-led action plans for community development initiatives that would be transferable and workable in any cultural or economic context around the world. We also framed discussions on young people’s ability to have a positive impact after a disaster.
Why does your organization make youth involvement such a priority?
I work on the idea that youth are the future inheritors of our communities. So if we want to create a real and meaningful sense of ownership and belonging in our rebuilt cities, it’s paramount that young people participate as fully as possible in the recovery process.
Young people think outside the box; they are innovative and creative, and they don’t necessarily conform to the rules and regulations that can so often slow down and complicate the community development process. We believe that with the right support, orientation and education, young people have the capacity to contribute with incredible professionalism to community development.
The benefits go beyond the short term. We can foster a generation of adults who will have been raise with a spirit and ethic of community participation that is responsible, informed, inclusive, and, most importantly, innovative.
What is the key to getting young people involved and keeping them committed over the long term?
Provide praise, positive reinforcement and support and identify engaging role models for them to emulate. Give them frequent, meaningful feedback about their progress and their successes in order to create incentives for future participation. Consider acknowledging their success through awards, and creating a "cool" culture of volunteerism that is endorsed and respected by the broader public.
Push for a shift in public perceptions of the capacity of young people to be change-makers and acknowledge their central role in creating more inclusive and sustainable communities. Have fun! Try to create a sense of adventure, and find ways to reflect frequently on the enjoyment that comes from being involved in making community changes happen. And more importantly, help them revel in the satisfaction that comes from breaking down the status quo.
Related links:
• Centre for Human Relations and Community Studies
• Co-Curricular Record
• Leadership, Initiative and Volunteer Engagement (LIVE) Centre
• “Lessons in Disaster Recovery” - NOW, January 18, 2012