YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD
The Youth Advisors Board
It is important for us to ensure that children and young people are involved in the development of the Growing Up in Digital Europe (GUIDE) survey. Acknowledging that young people are experts in their own lives, we are establishing a formal structure, called Youth Advisors Board, to facilitate their engagement.
As advisors, the young people involved in the group will advise researchers on a number of topics. For instance, they may contribute to the development of better research tools (questionnaires, booklets) and a greater understanding of how we can involve children and young people in research. We hope that in return they will enjoy being part of a group advising adults, learn about research, gain leadership skills, and feel empowered by the experience.
We need their perspective and opinions to ensure that the materials and approaches we develop throughout the project are coherent and child-friendly. This is an important element of our research as it ensures that children’s voices remain at the heart of what we are trying to achieve.
Youth Advisors Boards will be established in four countries: Croatia, Finland, Portugal and UK. They will gather a small number of young people (between 2 and 6) to ensure meaningful engagement. Whilst the first session will be spent presenting the project and getting to know each other, we will support young people in having an active engagement, listening to their suggestions and making sure that we bring their recommendations forward to the relevant decision makers.
Each Youth Advisors Board will nominate a young person to become part of a Youth Advisors International Committee that will meet online once a year. This is an exciting and important aspect of the project, as it will allow young people to meet their peers in other European countries and provide them with a better overview of the project.