YOUTH
ENGAGEMENT
PLAYBOOK 📣

We believe young people are not just participants — they’re partners in designing a better future. This gathers insights, stories, and data that amplify youth wisdom and strengthen how we show up for them.

Young people are leading movements, sparking new ideas, and rethinking how change happens. Around the world, they’re stepping up — and speaking up — about the issues that matter most.

 

 

But too often, they’re still treated as an afterthought.

 

Real youth engagement means more than inviting young people into a room. It means trusting them, building with them, and making space for shared power. And it starts with the right tools, the right mindset, and the right support.

“So many youth-focused organisations are operating in isolation and navigating really complex systems and environments.”

How we are building this

We brought together over 30 of Australia’s leading youth-focused organisations to share, reflect, and learn from one another. 

 

Together, we formed a Community of Practice (CoP) — a dynamic space where social enterprises, nonprofits, and youth practitioners come together to grow their practice.

 

 

This toolkit is shaped by what we heard in those conversations: what’s working, what’s hard, and what real youth engagement looks like on the ground. And it’s still evolving. 

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RESOURCES

Getting started with youth engagement can feel overwhelming — but you don’t have to figure it out alone.


Our Youth Engagement Toolkit offers simple, practical resources that support authentic, equitable partnerships with young people. Whether you’re an educator, community organisation, or policymaker, these tools are designed to help you move from intention to action.


What you’ll find: 

✅ Quick Guide – A simple breakdown of what youth engagement really means

✅ Principles of Engagement model – The strategies that help us do it well

✅ Reflection Worksheets – Tools for checking in and growing

✅ Co-Design Planner – A step-by-step template to plan alongside youth

Everything is downloadable, free to use, and designed with young people in mind.

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