Why Youth Participation

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Meaningful youth participation is about recognizing and nurturing the strengths, interests, and abilities of young people by providing them with real opportunities to become involved in decisions that affect them at individual and systemic levels. This kind of participation enhances youth health because it offers young people a chance to develop important decision-making and problem-solving skills, develop meaningful relationships, and bolster self-esteem. These benefits are known to protect youth against risk-taking behaviors that can have a negative impact on both their short and long-term health.  Positive youth development like adults, young people grow and develop best when they are given opportunities to experience, understand, question, and influence. During adolescence, young people begin to define their self-worth in terms of their skills and their ability to influence their environment. So for young people to make a healthy and effective transition to adulthood, they need opportunities to demonstrate that they are capable of being responsible, caring and participating members of society.

A growing body of research about healthy adolescent development emphasizes that young people need environments with basic supports like safe places to gather, good relationships with peers and adults, opportunities to learn and practice the skills they require for different roles, and constructive activities for spare time.  Impact on service delivery and planning meaningful youth participation can positively influence the design and delivery of youth-serving programs. By involving young people in the planning process, services can better direct available resources to youth and be more successful at approaching issues that affect them. Community development and health promotion research shows that people of all ages are more likely to commit to a program when they have been involved from the outset in its design and the plans to implement it. Creating opportunities for specific populations, including cultural-minority youth, youth in care, and youth with mental or physical disabilities to give input to programs designed to serve them, increases the likelihood that these groups will benefit from those programs.

Voice of the Youth Network is an advocacy organization. We are committed to promote youth participation and development through education and advocacy. 

We believed that youth must:

1. Act as role models of other Youth in our communities
2. Act as catalysts for change
3. Advocate and practice responsible and honest leadership
4. Actively participate in programs and projects
5. Promote the spirit of volunteerism
6. Provide recruits and trainees for youth development
7. Commit our dedication, time, initiative, resources, skills, talents, and knowledge
8. Promote our cultural heritage
9. Assist in the formation of youth organizations
10. Be fiscals of the youth
11. Vigilantly monitor the various youth programs & projects
12. Set standards and evaluate performance
13. Conduct research and feasibility studies
14. Formulate policies and concept papers
15. Expand awareness on the various youth issues
16. Actively campaign, lobby and advocate for youth issues
17. Be conscious of issues that affect the youth
18. Assist in database development and information gathering
19. Build networks and linkages with other stakeholders
20. Foster and nurture unity and cooperation among the youth

VOTY is consisting of youth ages 15-30 who has a various talents and capabilities dedicated to empowering youth through leadership, advocacy and education.  This effort encourages youth to take control of their life situations while building self-esteem and improving the quality of life for themselves and other talented youth.  Young people must be given the opportunity to understand organizational issues and develop their own advocacy skills.  It is essential that we actively engage youth in identifying their needs, capabilities and talents allowing them to be empowered to change the cycle of their lives. 

VOTY members are dedicated to servicing and presenting their talents to the young people of the Philippines to promote youth participation and development.  VOTY consists of young people between the ages of 15-30 from various backgrounds, classes and experiences.  These youth work together to identify and support talented children and address youth issues in the country.

The VOTY Youth Empowerment Project was founded by 5 talented youth leaders in the year of 1996. In the short existence of the program we have made an impact in the less fortunate children and youth.   In the area of education and advocacy, From 1997 to 1999, VOTY has it¡¯s; own radio youth program, Radyo-Radyo and Awit-Tawanan The only youth program of it's kind in the Philippines with the same vision, to promote youth participation and development through radio broadcasting. It was aired at DZMM 630 KHZ and another youth oriented program named Sey Mo, Sey Ko?aired over DZRH 666 Khz. 

In the area of youth leadership development and community education, VOTY members have been invited to present at several local, national and international conferences. VOTY members have been featured on National television and radio programs; newspapers; school and other community events. VOTY members also developed and maintain a web site.

The goals of the Youth Empowerment Programs are:

1. Continued improvement of educationalopportunities for talented children and youth.
2. Provide leadership opportunities to VOTY members.
3. Increase community education of  youth issues.