Circular No. IAR-C12-2023-EN
Call to the Youth Consultations and Dialogues 2023
Dear friends in Scouting:
The Youth Consultations and Dialogues of the Interamerican Scout Region are an excellent opportunity for young people to participate in decision-making and define policies and strategies that impact youth in Scouting.
This year we are pleased to invite National Scout Organizations, once again, to participate in these two spaces for youth involvement. In this edition, the consultations and youth dialogues will seek to obtain information from the youth regarding the experience of the Youth Programme in their scout groups and units, highlighting that the results will be shared with you at the end of the process.
Some benefits for youth participating in youth consultations and dialogues are:
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Develop leadership skills. Youth consultations and dialogues allow youth to take leadership roles and participate in meaningful discussions and debates. By actively participating in these activities, youth develop leadership skills, including effective communication, team-working, decision-making, and problem-solving.
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Engage in decision-making. Young people who participate in youth consultations and dialogues can influence decisions that impact youth scouts. By giving their opinion and contributing to discussions, young people can help shape the policies and strategies implemented in the region.
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Learn about culture and diversity. The Youth Dialogues of the Interamerican Scout Region bring together young people from different locations, countries, and cultures, giving them a unique opportunity to learn about the diversity and culture of other countries. Young people can learn about other ways of thinking and approaching challenges, which can help them become more tolerant and better understand the world in which they live.
Taking advantage of the possibility of having a greater reach using virtual platforms, we hope to convene as many children, adolescents, and young people as possible to provide them with the tools that allow them to take an active part in decision-making processes, not only at the unit level but also to assume roles and responsibilities at other levels of Scouting and in the community in general.
1- Youth Consultations
With the experience gained in the first round of youth consultations in 2022, we will open a space for the Region's children, adolescents, and young people to express their opinions and be heard. This space will consist of surveys shared through social networks and official contacts of the National Scout Organizations to achieve a greater reach in the field. The content of the consultation tools will be adjusted to the target audience, ensuring that they have appropriate language and consider protection in virtual environments.
The Youth Consultations will aim at four age ranges: from 7 to 10; from 11 to 14; from 15 to 21; and from 22 to 29. To facilitate the participation of children and adolescents in the 7 to 14 age range, the adults responsible for the NSOs will be asked to guide and accompany them to answer the questions in the tool designed for each age range. This phase will begin on May 19 and close on June 15, 2023. The support of the national NSO structures in disseminating this information is vital.
In this second round of youth consultations, we aim to collect opinions about the youth living in their local program.
2- Youth Dialogues
The Youth Dialogues process seeks to provide open spaces for exchange and discussion for young scouts from 7 to 29 years old, members of the NSOs of the Interamerican Region. The Youth Dialogues will be an opportunity to analyze and reflect on the problems they face in their communities and possible solutions. The Youth Dialogues will allow young people to express their priorities, actions, and recommendations to the region's leaders.
For the Youth Dialogues, a methodological package will be prepared so that the National Scout Organizations can organize these spaces in person and/or virtually for young people between the ages of 7 and
14 from June 23 to August 01st, 2023. In this period, young people between the ages of 15 and 29 will be invited to participate virtually at the regional level in these youth leadership spaces in English and Spanish.
In the coming weeks, we will send additional information with details on the development of each stage, in which your support will be of vital importance. For the time being, we ask you to schedule the dates mentioned above to allow you to organize the participation of your National Scout Organization members.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the Youth Programme Director, Mauricio Veayra, at mveayra@scout.org, or Laura Delgado, Executive to support operations at laura.delgado@scout.org.
Yours in Scouting,
Raúl Sánchez Vaca
Regional Director
World Scout Bureau
Interamerica Support Centre
