the youth autonomy principle
Considering youth autonomy as an important tenet of organisations as well as everyday life, a principle as opposed to an issue, and how it can be infringed.
"There are of course instances where youth autonomy is attacked and it is in some organisations routinely. I have experienced this myself."
The principle of youth autonomy is the idea that young people, whilst young and “inexperienced” in matters of the world, have individual entities as well as a lot to offer.
People assume that young people are up to no good, have nothing of value to offer, or are not interested in world matters. Let’s put the world to a side, the perception is that young people have no time for social issues because they’d rather game all night or spend time with their friends
Youth autonomy is young people having individual status and the power that comes with it to protect this. That’s autonomy of experience - no one knows what you have gone through. That’s autonomy of decisions - choosing whether to play basketball or chess. That’s autonomy of work - having protections over what work you have produced even when there are collaborations.
I say ‘principle of youth autonomy’ and not ‘issue of youth autonomy’ deliberately. ‘Issue’ would suggest that this is contentious or up for debate, and there will be people who agree with this and wish to impose limitations on youth autonomy. But I argue it is a principle because I don’t see why we’re debating the right to autonomy for young people.
The principle of youth autonomy in the context of organisations is essentially equipping young people with the necessary skills and knowledge to progress further in the "real world" and make their mark. It is nurturing them to unlock their potential and grow into their independence, see what is going on, and think for themselves instead of being part of a sphere or hive mentality.
Youth autonomy is so crucial to the existence of organisations because young people are vulnerable to mistreatment as well as abuse and lack of duty of care. There are of course instances where youth autonomy is attacked and it is in some organisations routinely. I have experienced this myself.
We sometimes overlook this to an extent because we feel grateful to even be noticed and have an opportunity in the first place. But young people deserve this to be the standard rather than the exception.
Youth autonomy is already our right. We have to protect it in order to grow further.
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