The guiding principle for these initial steps is to develop a youth council that is relevant to the local context. You can start with a simple question: what kinds of problems can we address by creating a youth council in our city? It is important to have sufficient time for planning these initial steps. During this process, you may also need to be prepared to encounter and address anti-youth attitudes from some of your constituents.

Foundation and Networking

• Deciding to Get Started

  • Create a small, motivated and diverse group of stakeholders that includes both youth and adults. The key tasks of this stakeholder group are to identify and assess the current youth engagement efforts in your community and to take first steps towards starting the youth council.

  • Are we ready to start our own youth council?

  • Are local leaders interested in starting, promoting and supporting a youth council?

  • Do we already have some youth engagement activities?

  • What can we learn from other cities?  

  • What are the most effective ways to advance representative youth engagement in our community?

  • Who or which actors should have a key role in the implementation?

• Why and How?

  • Discuss the main reasons to start a youth council in your community.

  • Discuss practicalities such as the council size and standards to ensure diversity and representativeness.

  • Consider what kind of characteristics you are looking for in youth council members (e.g., creativity, reliability, dedication, public service, passion) without excluding “non-typical” or inexperienced members of youth.

  • Create a preliminary plan for what you want to achieve during the first year.

  • Prepare initial mission, values and goal statements together with youth.

    • For example, would your youth council be focused on advocating for youth or acting in an advisory role for the local government, and how do you balance these roles?

    • Also, to what extent will your youth council focus on youth development compared to influencing how the community provides space for youth and recognizes their role in decision-making or planning new policies?

  • Start to save documents that might be needed later when applying for grants or writing reports, and to keep track of your youth council’s history and progress.

• Youth and the City

  • Identify committed leaders and staff members who have a passion for youth and willingness to let them lead, and who would be able to provide long-term sustainability

  • Find ways to integrate the youth council with the local government without relegating it to one department. This can be advanced by establishing a steering committee or advisory board with members from multiple departments.

  • Recruit a youth council facilitator. Essential requirements include skills and expertise with both young people and the policy process

    • Alternatively, find ways to bring in additional expertise

    • The key is to find a person who can contribute to both youth and policy development

• Connect with Other Community Leaders and Organizations

  • Consider administering a youth needs assessment in your community

  • Contact local schools to learn more about the issues and concerns that local youth face

  • Local businesses and non-profits might be important sources of knowledge, insights and suggestions

  • Start to create and maintain a list of important partners

• Make It Official

  • Adopt a resolution to establish a youth council. This should include the following information:

    • Membership composition

    • Selection process

    • Length of terms

    • Members’ responsibilities

    • Where the council is placed in the government

    • Organizational and leadership structure

    • Meeting requirements and procedures

    • How the council will be funded and whether sponsorships and fundraising are allowed

• Other Documentation

  • Application Form

  • By-Laws

  • Oath of Office

  • Code of Ethics and/or Conduct

  • Travel Policies and Liability Release Form

  • Georgia’s Open Meeting Act

    • Enhancing openness is one of the cornerstones of building public trust of government. Be mindful of Georgia’s Open Meetings Act when implementing a youth council and creating its operational culture.

  • One way to organize the documentation is to create and update a local youth council guide that gathers all the key documents. Your local youth council guide may also include background and other relevant information that facilitates a smooth and sustainable operation of the youth council.

Prepare Your Long-Term Financial Plan

• Design a Budget: Expenses and Funds

  • Information and networking infrastructure

    • Email and social media accounts

    • A youth council page on the local government’s website

    • Printing costs

    • Creation of online videos

    • Contacting potential sponsors and donors

  • Personnel

    • Can existing staff share the responsibilities or is a new part-time staff position or a stipend required?

  • Training

  • Transportation

    • Possible traveling costs include participation in events and meetings held by the Georgia Municipal Association, the National League of Cities, and others

  • Meetings

    • Meeting space, food, name tags, poster board and markers, and any other items such as trash bags

  • Youth compensation for community work

    • This could be monetary or non-monetary. The latter may include options such as educational credit hours, community service hours, letters of recommendation, college essay/resume/scholarship application coaching, etc.

  • Research

    • Community input, surveys, evaluation

  • Implementation

    • Events, projects and activities

  • Determine funding sources

    • Local government budget?

    • Would donations and sponsorships be allowed?

    • Options for local grants and fundraising?