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Why is training important to advance inclusion and justice?
Leading a group of your peers may sound easy, but there are numerous challenges young people face when trying to bring a group of people together for difficult conversations and decisions. Importantly, youth leaders will want training before they encounter issues in meetings, so they have a plan on how to handle challenges when they arise. This proactive training is key to building authentic, youth-led spaces.
Core Training Topics
Below are the main areas of training YCD focuses on for youth leaders of our chapters and affiliated groups:
Roles and Responsibilities in Youth-Led Groups
Too often adults take over youth spaces in order to “make things more efficient” or to direct efforts in a way that suits … the adults. YCD provides guidance and training for youth leaders to be 100% in charge, with adults supporting as mentors but in a secondary role throughout the process.
Bonding and Icebreakers
YCD provides dozens of icebreaker ideas to youth leaders, to help your group become familiar not just with one another’s names, but personal stories and reasons for showing up. We also train youth on how to shift gears throughout the year as the group becomes well acquainted.
Setting Group Norms and Holding Peers Accountable
It’s critical for any group to set expectations of how members should behave and treat one another. YCD trains youth on how to set and establish group norms in an inclusive manner, but importantly, how to hold peers accountable when they violate the norms.
Consensus-Building
YCD promotes consensus as a better, more inclusive decisionmaking model for groups, rather than the traditional majority rules approach. The YCD Guide outlines what consensus is, why it’s better than majority rules, steps to build consensus, how to tell if you’ve achieved consensus, and what to do when you are stuck.
Conflict Resolution and Restorative Practices
Conflict is inevitable whenever a group of people come together. We provide guidance and training on how to use restorative principles to address and resolve conflict, so that nobody is shunned or excluded from the group, and conflict is handled in a healthy and transparent manner.
DEIJ Core Concepts
Any young person who plans to lead a group related to inclusion and justice needs to understand the foundational concepts related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
YCD Leadership Training
YCD chapter members get free training for youth leaders and their adult mentors as part of your benefits! We encourage you to sign your group up as a YCD chapter; this training can be delivered in-person in Colorado or New Mexico, as well as virtually for groups anywhere in the United States!
Student Leadership Bootcamp
This fall YCD will host a Student Leadership Bootcamp on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado! This one-day event provides leadership training for youth leaders and adult mentors to supercharge their chapter and to create a plan for the year. Groups that are not official YCD chapters may still attend for a fee.
How do I get started / sign up?
Ready now?
YCD is building and supporting chapters across the country! Click the button below to start the process of either beginning/joining a chapter, or registering your group as a chapter.
Need more info?
Learn about how to educate your peers and yourself through biweekly youth-led meetings, and how YCD provides everything you need to make these a success.