Evaluation of Youth Participation in Urban Development through Youth-led Activities under the ReThink Urban Spaces Project by Shma
This study report is a continuation of the previous report on the approaches to youth participation in urban development in five provinces in Thailand produced by Shma Company Limited in March 2022. The study has been conducted by comparing the case studies from other countries to those in Thailand with aims to monitor the outcomes of youth-led activities in terms of promoting youth participation in urban development under the Rethink Urban Spaces project.
The monitoring method relied on the collection of data from the youth-led campaign reports as well as interviews with representatives of youth groups from five provinces after the completion of the activities. The results were then groups into four aspects: 1) topics and objectives, 2) selected formats and outcomes, 3) tools used for implementation, and 4) supporting network or system.
According to the study, the young participants have taken pride in their ability to successfully implement the project and even achieved better feedbacks than anticipated. The project has also helped them recognize the importance of their participation in urban development. This was despite the fact that they were tasked to put the project management knowledge to the test by themselves while having to managing their own time and under limited skills and budget. The participants have expressed hope that the activity would be passed on to the next batch of youth or even expanded to children of younger age, such as those in high school. The details can be summarized under different topics as follows:
1) For the design and indicators of the activity, the participants chose to put an emphasis on the objectives related to knowledge management and public awareness raising through the dissemination of knowledge and information about one’s city’s present and past, collective reflection of problems facing one’s city, and organization of a forum or common space, both online and offline, to exchange views.
2) Feedbacks from certain activities exceeded the organizers’ expectations, especially the Hat Yai connext, Hat Yai Film Fest, Inclusafe, and U Dee Design. These activities contribute to the expansion of network and were able to transform the role of participants to colleagues and partners of the future activities. It can be concluded that the topics and the formats of the activities have the potential to repeat and scale, where participants having attended multiple activities may be turned into a network member and partner in the future.
3) The positive feedbacks may lead to an opportunity to grow collaboration with other partners, including the media, civil society organizations, private sector, academic institutions, communities, and the public. These actors have been providing support to youth’s pilot activities in various forms, including finance, human resources, data, facilities, and others, which contribute to the consistency in the effort to promote participation in urban development.
4) As they witnessed the positive results, the youth themselves have become proud of themselves. They have successfully acquired new skills and knowledge, got to solve a public problem or propose their solution for to improve their urban space, exchanged views and expanded ideas with groups of people who shared the same interests, recognized the given opportunity to exercise the right to participation in urban development, and formed hopes and aspirations for the continued improvement of urban communities.
5) Nevertheless, the study has also identified the main challenge to the implementation of the youth-led activities. The participants, both those still in the university and those working a full-time job, struggled to seek balance between their personal time and time dedicated to the project. This has, in turn, variably affected the activities in terms of, for instance, the number of people assigned to complete a task and difficulties understanding multidisciplinary concepts and managing limited budget.
Based on the analysis of the results, we have come up with recommendations grouped under two themes to enhance Thai youth’s capacity to participate in urban development, both quantitively and qualitatively, in the future.
1) Promotion of youth participation in urban development in the future
1.1 Continuing youth participation. After the RTUS project has come to an end, it is essential to carry on promoting the access to knowledge sources, to advisors/experts on urban development, and to supporting grants, raising public awareness on the issue, and building networking activities. This is to ensure that the level of youth participation that has been generated will be maintained and can be reproduced later on.
1.2 Co-creation of guidelines, indicators, and framework with youth. This is key to inform long-term strategies and ensure the activities yield lasting positive impacts. This will not only help the activities address the needs of youth and relevant stakeholders, but also allow them to be used by the city administration in the future.
1.3 Challenges related to designing a work process that enhances youth participation while achieving a work-life balance. Implementing the project while studying or working in parallel may lead to fatigue and result in a lack of staff for the project. Hence, it is proposed that a goal is set to develop and test a work process, a connecting space, a collaborative approach for the network, and/or a way to further expand awareness among youth groups. This will not only promote capacity and skills among youth, but also influence the quality of participation in the long run.
1.4 Opportunities for youth to empower youth. Some young people involved in the implementation phase realized that the RTUS project is useful for both themselves thanks to the knowledge and experienced gain during the process as well as for other younger youth groups, e.g., high school students. As such, they wish to see this project be passed on to the next generation, who could stand to benefit from the hands-on learning and the enhanced awareness on their role in urban development in their own city.
1.5 Opportunities to strengthen the network. According to the compiled data, it was found that projects that had supports from partners were more likely to meet or exceed the set indicators or goals. Therefore, such collaboration should be magnified or repeated, be it with the same activities or new ones in another project with other possible partners in that respective issue/city.
2) Development of a support system for the participation of youth network in the long term.
In order to enhance and maintain the continuity of youth participation in urban development in the long term, all parties in all sectors, particularly local government, should provide a space and opportunities for youth to participate. This can be a policy formulation process that takes into account youth’s inputs or allocation of resource in a way that youth’s right to participation in the urban management or development is guaranteed. Youth’s participation should be provided at a level where young people are the one leading the activity or project and should be incorporated in four steps: 1) strategy and policy planning, 2) project and activity planning, 3) implementation, and 4) monitoring and evaluation.
In addition, academic promotion agencies, educational institutions, cultural promotion centers, media, private sector, and civil society sector should organize regular public activities to promote the development of knowledge and skills on urban development in a way that reflects the uniqueness of one’s city. This will serve as a shared space for urban dwellers to learn, realize the importance of, and have opportunities to jointly develop knowledge on the topic.
The monitoring method relied on the collection of data from the youth-led campaign reports as well as interviews with representatives of youth groups from five provinces after the completion of the activities. The results were then groups into four aspects: 1) topics and objectives, 2) selected formats and outcomes, 3) tools used for implementation, and 4) supporting network or system.
According to the study, the young participants have taken pride in their ability to successfully implement the project and even achieved better feedbacks than anticipated. The project has also helped them recognize the importance of their participation in urban development. This was despite the fact that they were tasked to put the project management knowledge to the test by themselves while having to managing their own time and under limited skills and budget. The participants have expressed hope that the activity would be passed on to the next batch of youth or even expanded to children of younger age, such as those in high school. The details can be summarized under different topics as follows:
1) For the design and indicators of the activity, the participants chose to put an emphasis on the objectives related to knowledge management and public awareness raising through the dissemination of knowledge and information about one’s city’s present and past, collective reflection of problems facing one’s city, and organization of a forum or common space, both online and offline, to exchange views.
2) Feedbacks from certain activities exceeded the organizers’ expectations, especially the Hat Yai connext, Hat Yai Film Fest, Inclusafe, and U Dee Design. These activities contribute to the expansion of network and were able to transform the role of participants to colleagues and partners of the future activities. It can be concluded that the topics and the formats of the activities have the potential to repeat and scale, where participants having attended multiple activities may be turned into a network member and partner in the future.
3) The positive feedbacks may lead to an opportunity to grow collaboration with other partners, including the media, civil society organizations, private sector, academic institutions, communities, and the public. These actors have been providing support to youth’s pilot activities in various forms, including finance, human resources, data, facilities, and others, which contribute to the consistency in the effort to promote participation in urban development.
4) As they witnessed the positive results, the youth themselves have become proud of themselves. They have successfully acquired new skills and knowledge, got to solve a public problem or propose their solution for to improve their urban space, exchanged views and expanded ideas with groups of people who shared the same interests, recognized the given opportunity to exercise the right to participation in urban development, and formed hopes and aspirations for the continued improvement of urban communities.
5) Nevertheless, the study has also identified the main challenge to the implementation of the youth-led activities. The participants, both those still in the university and those working a full-time job, struggled to seek balance between their personal time and time dedicated to the project. This has, in turn, variably affected the activities in terms of, for instance, the number of people assigned to complete a task and difficulties understanding multidisciplinary concepts and managing limited budget.
Based on the analysis of the results, we have come up with recommendations grouped under two themes to enhance Thai youth’s capacity to participate in urban development, both quantitively and qualitatively, in the future.
1) Promotion of youth participation in urban development in the future
1.1 Continuing youth participation. After the RTUS project has come to an end, it is essential to carry on promoting the access to knowledge sources, to advisors/experts on urban development, and to supporting grants, raising public awareness on the issue, and building networking activities. This is to ensure that the level of youth participation that has been generated will be maintained and can be reproduced later on.
1.2 Co-creation of guidelines, indicators, and framework with youth. This is key to inform long-term strategies and ensure the activities yield lasting positive impacts. This will not only help the activities address the needs of youth and relevant stakeholders, but also allow them to be used by the city administration in the future.
1.3 Challenges related to designing a work process that enhances youth participation while achieving a work-life balance. Implementing the project while studying or working in parallel may lead to fatigue and result in a lack of staff for the project. Hence, it is proposed that a goal is set to develop and test a work process, a connecting space, a collaborative approach for the network, and/or a way to further expand awareness among youth groups. This will not only promote capacity and skills among youth, but also influence the quality of participation in the long run.
1.4 Opportunities for youth to empower youth. Some young people involved in the implementation phase realized that the RTUS project is useful for both themselves thanks to the knowledge and experienced gain during the process as well as for other younger youth groups, e.g., high school students. As such, they wish to see this project be passed on to the next generation, who could stand to benefit from the hands-on learning and the enhanced awareness on their role in urban development in their own city.
1.5 Opportunities to strengthen the network. According to the compiled data, it was found that projects that had supports from partners were more likely to meet or exceed the set indicators or goals. Therefore, such collaboration should be magnified or repeated, be it with the same activities or new ones in another project with other possible partners in that respective issue/city.
2) Development of a support system for the participation of youth network in the long term.
In order to enhance and maintain the continuity of youth participation in urban development in the long term, all parties in all sectors, particularly local government, should provide a space and opportunities for youth to participate. This can be a policy formulation process that takes into account youth’s inputs or allocation of resource in a way that youth’s right to participation in the urban management or development is guaranteed. Youth’s participation should be provided at a level where young people are the one leading the activity or project and should be incorporated in four steps: 1) strategy and policy planning, 2) project and activity planning, 3) implementation, and 4) monitoring and evaluation.
In addition, academic promotion agencies, educational institutions, cultural promotion centers, media, private sector, and civil society sector should organize regular public activities to promote the development of knowledge and skills on urban development in a way that reflects the uniqueness of one’s city. This will serve as a shared space for urban dwellers to learn, realize the importance of, and have opportunities to jointly develop knowledge on the topic.