Meaningful Youth

Participation: Operations
Research Report
ASK Project
Indonesia
2-16 May 2015

What is MYP?
Meaningful Youth
Participation is when
young people are
structurally engaged in
all layers of decisionmaking

research
design
planning
implementation

evaluation

The ASK programme aspires

to have young people i.e.1024 year olds at the centre,
and as leaders of their work

Research that generates evidence-based

knowledge on interventions, strategies or tools
that can enhance the performance, quality,
effectiveness or coverage of a programme.
An opportunity to gather evidence and
more in-depth insights about the
effectiveness of programmes and their
thematic focus.

How can we best

support
organisations to
strengthen their
meaningful
participation of
young people?

How can the individual country level

organisations best engage with
young people in a meaningful
manner? What should they do?

Which factors
influence effective
and meaningful
youth participation?
How can the ASK programme in
the Netherlands best support the
country programmes to engage
young people meaningfully?

How does
meaningful youth
participation
work to positively
influence on the
development,
implementation
and delivery of
SRHR
interventions?

How are young

people involved in
the intervention and
with what particular
goals /
assumptions?

What are the effects

of youth
participation on:
- the ASK SRHR
intervention
- young people
themselves
- on the staff and
organisations

Examples of involvement
at different levels,
including in decision
making; formal / informal
processes, etc.

How do these goals / assumptions

compare against the young peoples
own understanding of the effects of
their participation on them or the
staff?

Indonesian context

Different parts (or

cities) of the country
have very different
levels of openness or
conservatism with
regard to issues of
rights, young people,
sexuality, etc.

Indonesia has a
vibrant youth
culture and
several youth
organisations
Despite a hierarchical
socio-cultural structure,
young people enjoy a
voice and the capacities
to be agents of change

There wasnt as much

visibility of transgender
persons (despite a great
deal of discussion on
their rights) and/or
lesbian women.

While discrimination
based on gender and
sexual orientation
exists, it is possible to
see young women
taking the lead, and
young gay men out
and at the forefront of
activities.

YPI
Jakarta

PKBI
DKI
Jakarta

ARI
Jakarta

PKBI
Jawa
Tengah

PKBI
Jawa
Timur

PKBI
Bali
PKBI
DIY

Methodology
Research Team:
research coordinator + 8 young coresearchers
The team was split into two groups

CD
Bethesda

Data collected
through
participatory,
qualitative
research

In-depth
interviews with
project staff &
young people +
focus group
discussions

Observation of
intervention activities,
e.g. youth & health
centres, community
mobilisation events

Analysis
Definition of Meaningful Youth Participation developed by research
team: Meaningful youth participation is a partnership between young
people and adults, which is initiated and led by young people, in the
form of capacity enhancement, opportunity to give opinions, and
share power and roles at every level of a programme, i.e. planning,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation

Spot Analysis based on:

Good practices on meaningful
youth participation
Recommendations from
interviews and FGDs (these
were the recommendations
that the research team heard)
Ideas for strengthening
meaningful youth
participation (these were the
research teams own practical
suggestions based on the
collected data)

Post Data Collection Analysis with both research teams based

on:
Goal of involving young people, looking at why adults involve
young people and comparing young peoples own
perceptions of why they have been involved
Examples of youth involvement
Effects of youth participation on the ASK programme
Effects of youth participation on young people
Effects of youth participation on the organisation, especially
on staff and adults and their perceptions
Factors influencing effective & meaningful youth
participation

Critical framework for analysis

provided by the ambitions for
Meaningful Youth Participation in the
ASK programmes Essential
Packages Manual 2014

 Enables young people to gain

full ownership over the work
they are involved in
Personal involvement and
close communication results
in the organisation achieving
its objectives despite having
limited paid staff, and enables
shared decision making

Good practices on meaningful

youth participation
Aliansi Remaja Independen (ARI) Jakarta

Mentoring
Shared
vision

Members:
10-24
years

Flat
Structure

YOUTH
LED
ORG
organisational policy

Board
Members:
< 27 years

Organisational policy of
minimum 30% representation of
young people

Young peoples involvement is

at all levels
Current director of PKBI DKI
was a volunteer in CMM before

PKBI DKI services re-branded as

Procare; young people involved in
designing the clinic and quality of
services

Good practices on meaningful

youth participation
PKBI DKI Jakarta
Young people work as professional staff, such
as coordinator of the youth centre (Centra
Mitra Muda or CMM), Programme Manager for
ASK programme, Coordinator of Media and
D4L Coordinator

CMM has a good network with young

people of diverse backgrounds,
including young LGBT, sex workers,
and young people in prison

Space for activities by peer educator

alumni from sexuality education
programme called DAKU (Dunia
Remajaku Seru! or My Teenage World is
Fun!)

Youth leaders associated with each

service delivery point to help other
young people access health services

Young peoples involvement mostly at

the stage of implementation and on
engagement through social media (i.e.
website, blog, Facebook page and
Twitter)
Staff is aware of the needs of the
young team at the youth centre: Forum
Peduli Kesehatan Remaja Indonesia
(Forum for Indonesian Adolescent
Health Care or FPKRI)

PKBI Jawa Timur also serves

neighbouring areas where similar ASK
activities take place, i.e. Pamekasan
and Jombang

Good practices on
meaningful youth
participation
PKBI Jawa Timur

The progression from being a volunteer

to getting staff positions is well
established
Key staff positions pertaining to
the youth programme, like PME
and Programme Coordinator are
held by young people (25 and
below).

Apart from their knowledge on

SRHR, the young people strongly
view themselves as agents of
change and advocates

Regular team meetings on

upcoming projects; high
levels of engagement

As the youth team

leader, Putra
encourages the
spirit of
voluntarism among
the young people

Young people
involved at all levels;
adult staff advisory

Good practices on
meaningful youth
participation
PKBI Jawa Tengah Semarang
Policy for minimum 30%
representation of young
people in the
organisations
governance processes

ASK programme
directly handled
by young staff

All young people get

basic training on the
vision and mission
of the organisation

Good practices on
meaningful youth
participation
PKBI Bali Denpasar

ASK programme enabled a clear job

description for young people
working in the youth centre Kisara
Adults place a lot of trust on the
young people, mainly acting as
advisors
Kisara does its own advocacy to the
government in Denpasar, working
directly to influence the government
on SRHR
Young people in the programme have
professional attitudes and adequate
understanding to implement the
programme

Goal of involving young people

YOUTH
POTENTIAL

agents of
change

Explore the
potential of
young people

Acknowledging the
needs of young people
to fulfil their rights

Facilitate a
space for
youth
creativity

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE YOUTH CHARACTER

ORGANISATIONAL
CONSTITUTION
Reach the target of the
programme /
programme requirement

YOUNG PEOPLE AWARE

OF THEIR OWN PROBLEMS

Regeneration for
the organisation

Young peoples
identity & their
struggle

Examples of youth involvement

Planning and implementing ALL youth programmes, monitoring and
evaluation (PKBI DKI, Bali, Jawa Tengah, Jawa Timur)
Not only involved in the youth programme but also in the strategic
direction of the organisation itself (PKBI DIY)
Leading the Dance4Life programme
Social media campaigns

Effects of youth participation on young people

My parents initially limited my involvement in
ARI but now that they see the benefits I get from
being part of ARI, they are more relaxed. I started
respecting diversity myself, having met many
kinds of young people through ARI. I feel Im more
open-minded and can explain about sexuality and
SRHR to my friends. If I hadnt joined ARI, I may
have continued to believe that LGBT are sinful.
- A young coordinator
I love the idea of sharing information through the radio. My role in
PKBI expanded, and I faced my fear of talking to the public. I learnt
more about SRHR problems among young people, like unwanted
pregnancy. I get to travel too. I went to Bangkok for training.
- A young volunteer and board member

I need to be the voice of the

unheard. In this case, young
people.
- A young volunteer and
board member
I went to an Islamic boarding
school so SRHR was a taboo and
uncomfortable topic for me. Since
my association with PKBI, I am not
judgmental and have a better
understanding of SRHR. I become
part of the solution.
- A young volunteer

I work with the transgender and difabled

(differently abled) communities. Part of
what I do is to observe and collect
evidence on the situation of their lives in
order to advocate for their rights.
- A young volunteer community organizer

We believe that this is about young peoples identity.

Age is part of identity and the struggle is related to
that. Young people should have key positions or
influential positions since that is very important to be
able to make a difference.
- Gama, Regional Director, PKBI DIY
When were talking about
young people, it is not fair for
us to make decisions for young
people because we may not be
in touch with their realities

Effects of youth
participation on the
organisation
Solidarity
&
movement
building

Strengthened
youth
leadership

Reaching
out to
LGBT
youth

Expanded
outreach
networks

- Putra, Youth Programme

Manager, PKBI Jawa Timur
Using
social
media

Efforts
made to
consult
young
people

More
youthfriendly
clinic

Considering
youth-led
organisations
as equals

Factors affecting MYP

Friendly & open
adults

Organisational
policy

Consistent transfer
of knowledge to
younger volunteers
Decision makers
were once young
volunteers

Possibility of
moving from
volunteers to staff

Shared vision with

the organisation
Flexibility of work
as a young
volunteer
Egalitarian and
flat structures

Challenges
There is not enough
youth-adult partnership
Adult involvement is
low; not enough
guidance and support
There is an awkwardness
between the young people and
the adults
Inconsistent
understanding and
implementation of
MYP

Young people are at the forefront of all social

media campaigns

Young people have taken on the mantle of pushing

cultural boundaries on SRHR more than adults

Conclusion & Recommendations

More training on youthadult partnership for
board members
Perspective building on
SRHR for adult board
members
Simple, transparent and
fair procedures for youth
involvement within
organisation
Better feedback
mechanisms / regular
opportunities for youthadult interaction in
organisations like YPI &
CD Bethesda
Integrated programming,
including youth
programming
Young volunteers should
receive PKBI membership
card
Clinical staff need more
training on YFS &
perspective building
around young peoples
sexuality

Develop a common
understanding on MYP for
the ASV, with clear
standards and criteria
Youth-led organisations
need constructive
feedback from their adult
partners
Use the ASV to strengthen
the Alliance members and
learn from each other
Re-activate the ASV youth
forum
Improve communication
between ASV members
Put all the Dance4Life
groups in touch with each
other for sharing
Discuss and clarify
diverse values of ASV
members in relation to
different sexual rights
issues

Designate one staff

member of Rutgers WPF
Indonesia to lead on
meaningful youth
participation
The Alliance members in
the Netherlands should
agree on the coordinating
agency in Indonesia and
enable more cohesive
programming at country
level