
Freechild Institute Youth Engagement Toolkit
There is a growing amount of confusion about what youth engagement is and is not.
- Youth engagement is not what you think it is.
- Youth engagement is not just focused on one issue or activity.
- Youth engagement is not the same as youth involvement, youth voice, or leadership.
- Youth engagement does not require youth voice—youth engagement is youth voice.
- Youth engagement does not need adult approval, guidance, or empowerment. Youth engagement can and does simply happen.
- If you want to engage young people on purpose, you might be able to do that—but you’d better make it worth replacing something else they’re engaged in right now.
- Youth engagement is not automatically youth empowerment.
If you’ve read the entire list and you still want to learn what youth engagement actually is, read on…

Freechild Institute Youth Engagement Toolkit
by Adam F.C. Fletcher
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What Is Youth Engagement?
- What Youth Engagement is Not
- Who is Youth Engagement For?
- What Are Youth Engaged In?
- How to See Youth Engagement
- All Youth Are Already Engaged
- Why Youth Engagement Happens
- Where Youth Engagement Happens
- Recruiting Youth
- How to Engage Youth
- How to Support Youth Engagement
- How to Sustain Youth Engagement
- 111 Ways to Engage Youth
- The Cycle of Engagement
- Barriers to Youth Engagement
- Comprehensive Youth Engagement
- Measure of Intergenerational Community Engagement
- The Future of Youth Engagement
Does your organization or community need support to create, foster, transform, or sustain youth engagement?
You Might Like…
Elsewhere Online
- The Practice of Youth Engagement by Adam Fletcher
- An Introduction to Youth Engagement in the Economy by Adam Fletcher
- A Unique Guide to Youth Engagement by Adam Fletcher
- The Freechild Project Youth Engagement Workshop Guide by Adam Fletcher
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Other tools are out there, too – share your thoughts in the comments below! For more information about how The Freechild Project can support youth engagement in your community or organization, contact us.

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