Workshops

Youth Visioning Workshops create a welcoming space for youth to explore their distinct forest community culture. The multi-day workshops focus on what youth aspire to be and do, their current relationship to forests and their communities, and the role forests can and do play in their lives.

Documented conversations and activities during the workshops are noted, analysed and incorporated into a research database to explore youth perspectives on the forests near their communities. At the end of the workshop, participants co-design conceptual ‘pilot projects’ for their communities. These are practical ideas for meaningful forest-related work that respond to the interests, needs and values of both workshop participants and their communities, while accounting for regional to global realities and opportunities.

There are three main audiences consulted for each workshop:

Youth participants
Participating communities
Research coordinators, facilitators, and their organisations

The Methodology includes guidance on:

Identifying Suitable Forest Communities

A suitable forest community includes a connection to youth migration and employment issues.

Selecting Local Coordinators and FOFW Community of Practice Facilitators

Coordinators and facilitators need to inspire and engage youth, balance global and local perspectives, and oversee workshop arrangements. A direct connection and history with the community is essential. They actively engage youth throughout the workshop, manage logistics, and collect data.

Advanced Planning and Coordination

Once coordinators, facilitators, and the community are chosen, significant advanced planning and coordination are required. A handbook developed in partnership with past workshops helps coordinators plan, delegate, and explore possibilities. This includes the workshop atmosphere, setup, location, and facilities, ensuring consistency across locations to encourage participation and considering practical needs and the importance of hosting conversations.

Inviting Youth Participants

In collaboration with local leaders, the coordinators develop an inclusive invitation process to select, nominate, or elect youth from a cross-section of local demographics, including age, income, gender, and local hierarchies. The goal is to have about 15 engaged youth who can fully participate in the Youth Visioning Workshop. Participant preparation is also involved to ensure high engagement.

Hosting the Workshop

The workshop follows a multi-day agenda developed to listen and share perspectives. Activities are designed and refined to allow each participant to contribute in different ways, including opportunities to tour and learn about the local forest. Activities include show and tell, brainstorming, discussions, and learning about assumptions and realities. The focus on co-design expands the sphere of dialogue, opens up latent ideas, shapes new perspectives in concert with peers, and responds to new information from local and global leaders. Workshops have led to high engagement, rich diverse data, and deep insights into youth perspectives, as well as strengthened collaboration among local leaders, coordinators, and facilitators.

Co-designing a Pilot Project - New Ideas for Meaningful Work

At the conclusion of each workshop, there is an opportunity for the youth to create a Pilot Project based on workshop activities and outcomes. These practical ideas for meaningful forest-related work respond to the interests, needs, and values of participants and their communities, while accounting for regional and global realities and opportunities. This activity gives youth and facilitators a deeper sense of process, possibilities, constraints, and the power of imagination to transcend obstacles. The developed pilot project is shared with community leaders and may lead to future activities.

Recording and Measuring Outcomes

After the workshops, all collected data is recorded, analysed, and shared with participants and the community. It is also stored in the Future of Forest Work and Communities Database for further analysis and research.