Learners' Own Words

Please note trigger warning: there is explicit language and mature content in the Kendrick Lamar music video that is played during the training. This is included to help you understand hip hop culture and the context in which youth live.

Katniss Everdeen has a story, J. Cole has a story, as do Elsa and Anna. They are stories that adults often ignore, scoff at, or dismiss as irrelevant or passing fads. But the youth we work with often identify with these and other stories. We could be missing out on an opportunity to allow youth to tell their stories in their own way by not joining them in their experience with the stories that are important to them. We need to be more curious and go beyond asking youth about their day-to-day lives to build rapport.

Successful adult-youth connections depend on adults showing true interest in what a youth cares about.  One way we can do this is by giving youth permission to use their chosen narratives to share their world with us. The responsibility is on us to learn about these narratives and to join with youth in “meaning-making.” As we validate and respect their interests and insights, we can use these stories and characters to guide youth through difficult times and towards their goals.

In this training, you will explore the importance of looking at the adult-youth relationship as cross-cultural. This includes thinking of our experiences and the culture we identified with as a youth.  We will also discuss how to go beyond conversations that use phrases like “relaxation strategies” and learn to make room for The Avengers or Boggarts to achieve the same objective: to walk alongside a young person while they grow. This training is designed for any individual working with youth, regardless of setting (clinical or non-clinical, residential or community based).

• Learn the importance of a cross-cultural framework when engaging youth
• Explore ways to utilize pop culture in both clinical and non-clinical settings
• Identify opportunities to use cross-cultural youth work in your own practice
• Identify ways to continue this conversation in your organization or agency

Each of YIPA’s trainings are designed around a broad framework of eight youth work competencies. The competency focus of this training is: COMMUNICATIONS.

Gain communication flexibility which allows you to develop healthy, productive work relationships, engage in collaborative problem solving with youth, and improve individual and group facilitation.