This study illuminates how medical specialty camps can be an important developmental setting offering opportunities for diverse children and youth to develop traits and qualities perceived as important even later in life. Perhaps most importantly, camp was identified as one of the most influential settings for developing personal and social traits…

When financial resources are scarce and uncertain, youth performance organisations find ways to 'hold it together': to carry on no matter what. Engaging critically with theories of organisational resilience, this article examines how two youth performance companies in Auckland experience and respond to a precarious funding environment. The local…

Objectives: Drug education is delivered by a broad spectrum of multi-disciplinary practitioners within the fields of health promotion, drug prevention and treatment, social care, and community and youth work. However, drug education is often misunderstood or conflated with drug information and/or drug prevention. This ambiguity of understanding is…

Most people meet insects with fear and disgust, even though few insects pose health risks; in fact, many are beneficial and their absence would adversely affect human life. Such misunderstandings lead to insect conservation being important but unpopular. We addressed these concerns as part of a broader effort to establish an ongoing outreach…

This paper discusses Romani mentors' mixed experiences, views and coping practices in an intra-ethnic 'natural mentoring' project targeting young Romani (more commonly known as 'Gypsy') students in Spain. The intervention transforms already existing intra-ethnic bonds into mentorships in local Spanish Romani communities. To meet the aims of this…

Sharing the importance of agriculture, agricultural education, and programmatic efforts through Extension is vital to ensuring policy makers and the general public understand the need for supporting the overall agricultural industry. However, communicating such importance can be challenging without accurate, evidence-based language to describe…

This study focuses on "ibasho" in Japan in the sense of free spaces for people with a history of hikikomori (social withdrawal) who have trouble in finding employment. The paper reviews previous literature on "ibasho," and attempts to clarify the role that "ibasho" are expected to play in supporting these people. As a…

When you don't have a hand, what could you have instead? This article introduces the impact of inviting youth with disabilities to learn tools and technology to design their own solutions and advocate for their own future. This approach to programming is rooted in a mindset of designing WITH, not FOR. Not only are design outcomes improved when…

Leaders of Tomorrow is a leadership program developed by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) with a curriculum co-created by immigrant and refugee youth. The goal of Leaders of Tomorrow is to support and mobilize immigrant and refugee youth through opportunities to expand their knowledge, strengthen their skills, access tools and…

In the United States, more than 5.4 million children and adolescents under age 18 provide care for family members who are aging or have chronic illness, disability, or other health conditions that require assistance. In this policy report, we describe youth's care for the family, and highlight the increasing prevalence, global challenges, and…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the Nation's largest domestic food and nutrition assistance program for Americans with low income. SNAP-Education, commonly referred to as SNAP-Ed, is the nutrition education arm of SNAP benefits. SNAP-Ed aims to help individuals stretch their food budget while also supporting a healthier…

This study explores the "Youth Leadership Experience" (YLE), (pseudonym) an afterschool experiential learning and leadership program for 9th and 10th-grade high school students from the midlands area of Columbia, SC. The study aims to identify and document the experiential learning and leadership practices at "Youth Leadership…

STEM pipeline programs often include research experiences for youth, but fewer focus on youth as shared decision-makers or leaders in research efforts. Youth participatory action research (YPAR) and community-based participatory research (CBPR) orientations suggest that the quality and relevance of research will benefit from youth partnership.…

Building on existing relationships with international youth development colleagues, we created the 4-H International Camp United Program (4-HICUP) as a leadership opportunity for international and U.S. teens. In 2019, teenagers from Azerbaijan, Italy, Russia, and the United States came together to build personal cross-cultural relationships,…

This article explores the impact of German Jewish youth educational travel in Israel on changing attitudes toward Israel. The travelers are engaged in direct interaction with the host country, directly experiencing the environments and interacting with members of the host society while touring places with symbolic meaning. The encounters with…