Youth engagement programmes have a significant impact on the overall development of the young generation in society, and they help in empowering the youth with various skills that will benefit them in the long run. Effective youth programmes equip young adult with hands-on skills that can only be acquired through actual engagement. Further, such programmes are essential in instilling absolute values in young individuals such as making them better citizens in future. Youth engagement programmes also help young adults to make a meaningful contribution to society.
Programmes such as environmental-related programmes help in developing the young adult while at the same time contributing positively to a worthy cause that impacts the community positively. Be it sports, environmental programmes, prevention programmes or otherwise, the programmes are meant to include the young adults in the development of the community agenda and engage them directly in the same. These programmes ought to ensure that these young adults or teenagers are within a supportive environment, that they are exposed to hands-on experience and that they have the opportunity to develop themselves holistically as part of the objective of the program.
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Effective Youth Engagement Programmes ensure that young adults learn through engagement and technology can be a vital tool in helping young people to learn on the particular engagements. The programmes also give young adults actual or hands-on engagement where they gain experience and contribute to society. The programmes also equip young adults with knowledge and skills that prepare them for future engagements such as leadership.
There are numerous youth engagement programmes that one can engage the young adults in the Tampa Bay Area, Pinellas County. The programmes include;
Tampa Bay Watch
Tampa Bay is regarded as the largest estuary estate in the state of Florida with one of the most diverse ecosystem. Tampa Bay Watch is a non-profit organization which was established with the primary objective of protecting and restoring the Tampa Bay estuary (Tampa Bay Watch, 2020). The organization employs scientific and educational programmes to achieve its objectives. The organization has been able to mobilize and train volunteers, youth, students and other partner organizations on matters relating to environmental conservation. The organization has been at the forefront in creating community awareness on the vulnerability of the environment and the need to protect and conserve such nature.
I can engage the young adults in programmes offered by Tapa bay Watch which include; Bay Grasses in Classes that aims at engaging students from middle and high schools in environmental conservation. The students grow native salt mash which is then transplanted along the Tampa Bay shoreline. Through these programmes, students can learn about ecological and agricultural skills. The program engages youth between the ages of 13- 19 years who are in middle and high schools.
The young adults can also be engaged in other programmes such as estuary EDventures which seeks to educate on matters ecological system through various field experiences.
Coastal cleanups which strive to engage the community in cleaning eliminating harmful elements from the marine ecosystem. The youth can be actively engaged in this cleanup program. Fish line collection and recycling is also viable in engaging the youth who can be involved in collecting fishing lines which pose a threat to birds within the ecological system.
Tampa Bay Restoration and Restoration Effort
Tampa bay restoration and restoration effort is a non-profit organization which undertakes programs that seeks to encourage volunteering in tree-planting initiatives around the Tampa Bay Area (T.R.E.E Inc., 2020). The organization has been instrumental in organizing volunteering opportunities where volunteers plant trees in the area estates, parks, and roadways in the area; the organization has so far been able to plant more than 28,000 trees to conserve and protect the environment.
Though such an organization, I can be able to engage the youth to rise and plant trees as a result, contributing to environmental beautification and protection. The youth can help in creating awareness about the benefits of environmental conservation and protection. The youth can also be engaged in scientific studies and educational programs that inform the public on matters relating to environmental conservation.
Keep Tampa Beautiful
This is a volunteer-driven non-profit organization which is dedicated to environmental conservation and protection through volunteer community service, environmental stewardship and giving. The organization is involved in various initiatives and programs that are geared towards environmental protection and restoration. According to the organization’s mission, is dedicated to encouraging environmental stewardship through volunteer and educational opportunities (Keep Tampa Beautiful, 2020).
The youth can be engaged in several programmed adopted by this organization. Young adults can be positively engaged in the annual volunteer cleanups carried out by the organization—for instance the after fireworks cleanup held on July 5th, the trash-free waters day cleanup among others. The youth can volunteer to such cleanups as a way of keeping the environment clean at the same time, contributing positively to the improvement of the community.
The organization also offers educational programs that the youth can be engaged in. One such program is the Keep Tampa Beautiful summer camp where young adults are actively engaged in learning activities on environmental programs. Further, the organization has an ambassadors program where the youth are recruited as the organization’s ambassadors in spreading the message on environmental conservation. The Youth Ambassador Program is very relevant for the youth who want to have hands-on experience in matters relating to leadership, communication skills and problem-solving (Keep Tampa Beautiful, 2020).
Program assessment
There must be an assessment of the youth engagements to ascertain engagement effectiveness. The purpose of youth engagement programmes is to equip the young population with skills and knowledge that prepares them for future challenges. However, it will be an exercise if utility if the young adults do not benefit from their engagements as intended. Therefore, the programs must be assessed to determine their effectiveness in developing young adults.
Brainstorming interviews are instrumental in assessing what the youth have learnt during engagements in youth engagement programs. Through the interview, the participants can report back what they have learnt so far, the experience they had and any other relevant information that may be required. Individual interviews can also be effective as it gives individual assessment results of the participants as opposed to brainstorming interviews. However, it will highly depend on the kind of program engaged in to determine which kind of interview will produce the best results.
Speak outs can also help in assessing what the youth have gained from an engagement. This is where they freely speak on their experience in the course of a particular engagement and what they have learnt so far from the same. Opinions shared freely give the assessor honest perspective on what the participant has gained so far from a program.
References
Keep Tampa Beautiful. (2020). Retrieved April 6, 2020, from Keep Tampa Beautiful: https://www.keeptampabaybeautiful.org/our-team/#1496413286120-8ff6abba-b3e9
Keep Tampa Beautiful. (2020). Retrieved April 6, 2020, from Keep Tampa Beautifu: https://www.keeptampabaybeautiful.org/education/
T.R.E.E Inc. (2020). Retrieved April 6, 2020, from T.R.E.E Inc: http://treeinc.org/
Tampa Bay Watch. (2020). Retrieved April 6, 2020, from Tampa Bay Watch: https://tampabaywatch.org/
