🚨 Sound the alarms (or at least the group text): BGCA’s Director of Teen Engagement LeVar Jones is back on ClubX!! 🚨
In youth development, one truth continues to stand out: the most powerful experiences for teens are the ones they help create. Whether you’re organizing a local youth summit or a national experience like Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Keystone Conference, the involvement of young people in the planning process isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s essential.
At the National Keystone Conference, we’ve seen the impact firsthand. Each year, thousands of teen leaders from across the globe come together to learn, connect, serve, and lead. But what makes it truly special is that it’s not designed FOR teens, it’s designed BY them. From the conference theme to the speakers, workshops, and service opportunities, teens have a voice in shaping it all.
When teens are involved in planning, something powerful happens:
ENGAGEMENT INCREASES. Teens show up more fully when they see their fingerprints on the experience.
OWNERSHIP GROWS. When they’re part of the process, they care more deeply about the outcome.
LEADERSHIP IS DEVELOPED. Teens practice communication, collaboration, decision-making, and problem-solving in real time.
Most importantly, involving teen voice signals something bigger, it tells young people, “You are not just the future. You are leaders right now.”
So, how can you involve teens in your own events?
Whether you’re part of a Boys & Girls Club or other youth-serving nonprofit, school, faith-based group, or community organization, here are a few simple, actionable steps to start:
- Create a Teen Planning Committee: Invite a diverse group of teens to the table from the very beginning. Give them real roles, not just symbolic ones. Include them in key meetings, decisions, and brainstorming sessions.
- Let Teens Lead Key Elements: Whether it’s picking the theme, designing breakout sessions, choosing music, or emceeing the event, let teens lead components that match their strengths and interests.
- Provide Structure, Not Control: Teens thrive with guidance but resist micromanagement. Offer support and coaching, but let them explore ideas, make decisions, and even make mistakes. That’s part of the growth.
- Use Surveys and Listening Sessions: Even if you can’t form a planning committee, you can still hear youth voice. Conduct short surveys, hold listening sessions, or do peer interviews to gather feedback on what matters to them.
- Recognize and Celebrate Teen Contributions: When the event happens, highlight the teens who helped make it possible. Give them credit publicly. Let them reflect and share their experience. This reinforces the value of their voice and inspires others to follow their lead.
The bottom line? When we include teens in the process, we don’t just create better events, we create better leaders. Let’s continue to build spaces WITH teens, not just for them.
#YouthVoice #TeenLeadership #EventPlanning #KeystoneConference #ThisIsTheWork
What are the issues the teens in your Club care about? How do you authentically cultivate youth voice? We want to know! Comment below, on the BGCA Youth Development Facebook page, or email ClubXBlog@bgca.org.
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