Youth Empowerment Process

Learn more about the seven steps to Youth Empowerment »

The MindMatters Youth Empowerment Presenter team

MindMatters National Youth Empowerment presenter team includes young people from diverse backgrounds who support the presentation of the workshops and are consulted on the development of youth friendly MindMatters resources.

The Youth Empowerment Process

The Youth Empowerment Process enables and supports all students to be leaders of mental health promotion in their own lives, in their own schools, and in their communities.

The MindMatters approach to student empowerment is outlined below and aligns to the Ausyouth, Good Practice framework.

• A school commitment:
  • Build an on-going two-way partnership between young people and adults, and young people and their peers, based on trust and respect.
• Development of young people’s knowledge and skills:
  • Support young people to further develop their knowledge and understanding of Mental Health to make informed decisions and choices about all aspects of wellbeing
  • Provide young people with the information and skills to develop and clarify their own attitudes about mental health promotion.
  • Provide young people with information to make informed decisions about their involvement in youth empowerment processes.
• Development of young people’s confidence:
  • Support young people who choose to change unhelpful attitudes and behaviours in themselves and seek to change such attitudes and behaviours in others.
  • Provide young people with the strength and confidence to make a difference as young people and become leaders of mental health promotion.
• Creation of opportunities and responsibilities for action by young people:
  • Construct opportunities for active participation based on sensitivity, openness and teamwork.
  • Provide a platform for students to freely express themselves without being judged or criticised.
  • Enable young people to engage with the MindMatters materials as leaders of wellbeing conversations and, where they choose to do so and receive appropriate skills and support, to become co-presenters of these ideas within their own communities.
• Provision of active support:
  • Advocate for young people to have their voices on youth issues heard and responded to in local, state, national and international forums.
  • Provide appropriate advice, support and, where necessary, protection for young people around issues of cultural or other conflict, exploitation and being ‘set up’ to fail.
  • Ensure a safe and supportive environment in which young people are valued and able to participate fully.
  • Celebrate and acknowledge the strengths of young people and the contribution they are making to promoting positive mental health and wellbeing.

 Download the MindMatters Student Empowerment Information book (pdf, 3.69MB)