10 Key Approaches for Working With Adolescents
At the heart of all the guidance, tools and activities in the Adolescent Kit are 10 key approaches:
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Reach out to all adolescents Identify the adolescent girls and boys who are most in need of support and work actively to include them. -
Provide structure and support Create a welcoming space for adolescents, with clear routines and structured activities, and provide them with ongoing support. -
Listen to adolescents Take time to learn about adolescents’ lives, explore their ideas for working together, and give them space to express themselves. -
Let adolescents take the lead in your work together and encourage them to try new roles and take on new responsibilities. -
Include all adolescents from all types of backgrounds, and adapt your activities so that everyone has a chance to participate equally. -
Make space for expression and creativity Allow adolescents to express themselves, explore their creativity and let their imaginations run free. -
Challenge and encourage adolescents during your work together, while also providing them with support. -
Improvise and adapt your work in response to adolescents’ needs, interests and circumstances. -
Build connections Support adolescents to connect with their families, communities and each other, and help them access information and services. -
Build on the positive Help adolescents recognise their strengths and create a fun and positive atmosphere for working together.
These approaches have been tried and tested with adolescent girls and boys in humanitarian and protracted emergency contexts. They have been found to be the most effective approaches for working with adolescents and making positive changes in their lives.
These 10 approaches bring together good practice and standards from life skills education; basic education; psychosocial support and mental health; child protection and peer-to-peer support programmes; child, adolescent and youth participation; conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding; gender sensitivity, resilience and equity initiatives; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Read more about the 10 key approaches in the Foundation Guide (p. 18).