About Us
Driving Principles for Y-PLAN Global
Learned from over a decade of global leadership collaborations
1. Form an Inter-Generational Community of Practice
Find ways to work together: It is critically important to connect and collaborate with persons from different places and perspectives, as it is easy to become accustomed to our own status quo, even if it produces inequitable conditions. “Why, in the richest country in the world, are so many homeless people living on the streets with nowhere to go?” asked one student from the Youth Leadership Program with Sub-Saharan Africa, reminding local leaders that we cannot become numb to the severity of chronic homelessness. Diversity – of culture, race, gender, and more – if handled respectfully, will always result in stronger, more compassionate proposals for their more rigorous development.
2. Take Action, Even Small Steps Matter
Let young people lead: Many of the partnerships feature opportunities for participants to realize portions of their recommendations. These mini-projects show students that they are able to plan and to enact change exactly as they are. Their aim is to bolster students’ confidence as they finish their programs and head home to enact their own action plans, and they deliver positive results to the local communities in the Bay Area. In one example, TOMODACHI students created a colorful and engaging pop-up park on a degraded, abandoned lot in North Richmond, building on ideas generated by local elementary students. For adult allies and staff, the mini-projects remind them to believe in and support the ideas of young people.
3. Support a Culture of Lifelong Learning
Listen to and work with young people: Central to the Y-PLAN pedagogy is the idea that young people are experts in their lived experience. They bring to community development invaluable knowledge, perspective, and access. Adults can learn from them, if they are willing to meaningfully engage with them. Further, both cultural exchange activities and Y-PLAN encourage participants (youths and adults alike) to explore and to ask questions about the world in which we live. By inviting the investigation of the status quo, the programs encourage students and involved adults to stay curious and remain open to life-long growth.
