Appendix A: Discussion Guides

Youth Facilitated Discussion Guide

The Department of Canadian Heritage wants to do what it can to make sure Canadian youth participate actively in Canadian society, contribute substantially to what that society looks like, and share a common appreciation of their Canadian identity. In other words, they want to encourage youth engagement on a national level.

The purpose of meeting with you here today is to explore how you think your government can best support these goals of participation, contribution, and appreciation. Specifically, the Department of Canadian Heritage is interested in how to encourage youth engagement with Canada’s arts, heritage and culture, and how to engage youth in their communities.

  • 9:00 am
    • Opening Comments (10 minutes)
    • Introduction by facilitator (setting out discussion objectives)
    • Introduction of participants (Group Juggle)

  • 9:10 am
    • Activities that promote engagement (20 minutes)
    • What types of activities are of greatest interest to youth, in terms of community engagement, or participation in arts, heritage and culture? (brainstorming activity)

  • 9:30 am
    • Group Juggle (5 minutes)

  • 9:35 am
    • Programs that encourage engagement (40 minutes)
    • Awareness of existing programs that encourage and support youth engagement in communities, or in the arts, heritage and culture fields (think-pair-share activity)
    • Attractiveness of existing programs (Apples and Onions activity)

  • 10:15 am
    • Break (15 minutes)

  • 10:30 am
    • Group Juggle (5 minutes)

  • 10:35 am
    • Federal government role in enhancing youth participation (40 minutes)
    • What should be the federal government role in enhancing youth participation? (“When you are the Government dotmography”)

  • 11:15 am
    • Closing Exercise (10 minutes)
    • A wrap-up exercise in which each participant can share their ideas with the Department of Canadian Heritage directly (Dear Department)

  • 11:25 am
    • Thank-you and final group Juggle (5 minutes)

Facilitation Guide (internal use only; not for participants)

Legend:

Designed to Address is the question from the original list, to show what information is being gleaned from this activity.

Set-up is the preparation required for each activity, and a description of what has to be done by the facilitator, as well as what materials are required.

Instructions are written as a script for the facilitator, and will be followed fairly closely.

  1. Brainstorming for Activities

    Designed to Address:  What types of activities are of greatest interest to you: engagement in communities (e.g., encouraging volunteering, funding for projects, support for youth community organizations etc.), arts, heritage and culture (e.g., internship programs, education and outreach, funding for projects etc.)?

    Set-up: Flip-chart posters on the wall or on the table with eight words (participate, contribute, appreciate, engagement in community, Canadian identity, arts, heritage and culture) plus an ”all of the above” poster spaced with room for sticky notes. Enough sticky notes and markers for 24 participants.

    Instructions: Look at the words that are up around the room (or on the table). Think about the activities young people in Canada can do or would like to do that relate to these eight words. I'm going to hand out sticky notes and markers, so that you can list your own ideas about what types of activities are of greatest interest to you, and put them next to the words they fit best with. If they fit in more than one place, you can write the same activity on more than one sticky note. If they fit absolutely everywhere, just put them next to “All of the Above”

    [If time permits, a facilitated discussion around why certain activities clustered around particular words could be held.]

  2. Think-Pair-Share for Programs

    Designed to Address:  Are you aware of any existing programs that encourage and support youth engagement in communities? in the arts, culture, or heritage?

    Set-up: Participants will be asked to pair off in groups (two or three participants per group). They will be provided with pens and journal paper with “Head (thinking), Heart (feeling), Feet (doing)” as a prompt for contextualizing their experience. Envelopes will be provided in case they would like their journal notes mailed to them after the consultation.

    Instructions: This next activity is designed to explore any existing programs that encourage and support youth engagement in communities, and in arts, culture or heritage. First, I'd like you to think quietly for a few minutes about your own experience or knowledge of programs that try to engage youth in communities, arts, heritage, or culture.  Here's a piece of paper with our question, and the words "Head, Heart, Feet" on it. This is because I'd like you to think about what these programs want you to think, to feel, and experience.  After enough time has passed, we'll pair off to share our experience, and further brainstorm about other programs you may remember once you hear others talking.  Pairs may share reports to the large group if time allows, and I'd like to collect your journals and notes. If you want to keep your notes, write your mailing address on one of these envelopes, and stick the notes in there, and I can mail it back to you.

  3. “Apples and Onions” for What Works and What Doesn’t

    Designed to Address: What, if anything, appeals to you about those programs?

    Set-up: Facilitator will bring one apple and one onion for each participant. One-page descriptions of Canadian Heritage youth programs will be distributed for participants to use as a reference. Is it possible to also have other federal programs listed, so that youth can also include these in their thinking?  Such as Cadets, for example, or the International Youth Internship Program at CIDA? There may be others too.

    Instructions: [hand out apples and onions, and the Canadian Heritage program sheet]

    Apples are things that leave a good taste in your mouth, and onions are things that leave a bad taste. Thinking about youth programs you've experienced, what are the “apples” and “onions”. Looking at the list of programs I've handed out, what are the possible "apples" and "onions" you see?

  4. When you are the Government Dotmography

    Designed to Address:  Based on your experience, if you were to incite more youth participation, what would be your focus?  (i.e. internships, project funding, funding for organizations, training and education, promotional campaigns etc.)

    Set-up:  Have list of ways government can support youth participation (internships, project funding, funding for organizations, training and education, promotional campaigns)  including room for additions. Have a set of stickers for each participant.

    Instructions: The Department of Canadian Heritage has come up with some examples of ways they think the government could support youth engagement in communities, arts, culture, and heritage.  Here’s a list: encouraging volunteering, support for youth community organizations, internship programs,  training and outreach activities with professional artists, historians or curators, etc.

    When your generation becomes the government, do you think you’ll have any other ways of supporting youth participation?

    [Have a discussion/brainstorming session; provide an example of using new media like Facebook to get youth input on issues related to youth, then resume facilitation]

    In addition to developing strategies, one of the important aspects of Canadian government is democracy (or voting). So we’re going to have a vote. [Pass out stickers]. Use these stickers to vote on the types of support that most interest you, and you think would be most meaningful for youth. You can place stickers however you choose (all on one, if it’s the most and only important way, or evenly spaced, if you think they’re all good, or any mix in between).

    [Participants to participate in dotmography exercise, then resume facilitation]

    Why do some things have more dots, and others fewer?

  5. Dear Department Comments

    Designed to Address:  A wrap-up and conclusion exercise, and an opportunity for open-ended general feedback.

    Set-up: Participants will be provided with pen/pencil and paper to write comments to the Department of Canadian Heritage.

    Instructions: Given all our discussions today, and recognizing that all this happened because the Department of Canadian Heritage wants your expert opinion on how the Government can support youth participation in community, arts, heritage, and culture, spend a few minutes thinking about what you think the most important ideas from today were. Also think about what we might have missed or forgotten that is important for youth participation. Then take the last few minutes to write some comments (no more than a page) in your neatest handwriting (I’m going to have to type these up, you see) to explain all this important stuff to the Department of Canadian Heritage. Again, if you want me to return your comments to you after we've added the information to our report, put it in the envelope and I'll send it back to you when we're done.

Community Organizations / Arts, Heritage, and Culture Organizations Roundtable Discussion Guide

Canadian Heritage Roundtable Discussions Agenda

The Department of Canadian Heritage seeks to ensure that Canadian youth participate actively in Canadian society, contribute substantially to its evolution, and share a common appreciation of Canadian identity. The purpose of this discussion is to explore how best to support these goals.

This stream of roundtable discussions focuses on [youth engagement and inclusion/youth arts, culture and heritage], and seeks to involve youth and national youth-serving organizations and service clubs engaged in and contributing to issues that encourage youth participation in communities in Canada.

Thank you for attending and sharing your expertise with the Department of Canadian Heritage. This roundtable is being facilitated by an independent consultant from Atlantic Evaluation Group. A representative of the Department will be in attendance at each roundtable. The discussions will be recorded and summarized into a report that will inform future decisions around youth participation and inclusion. Your remarks will be presented in summary form, and will not be attributed directly to you in the final report; however, a list of all roundtable participants will be included.

  • Opening comments (15 minutes)
    • Introduction by facilitator (Atlantic Evaluation Group)
    • Introduction of participants
    • Setting out roundtable discussion objectives

  • Roundtable discussion on program elements/best practices (60 minutes)
    • What mechanisms to engage youth in [engagement and inclusion/arts, culture, or heritage] activities are most effective?
      • What kinds of program design mechanisms are effective?
      • What kinds of program delivery mechanisms are effective?
      • What kind of non-program mechanisms are effective?
    • What are the main challenges faced by your organization in engaging youth?

  • Tea/coffee break (15 minutes)

  • Roundtable discussion on federal support (75 minutes)
    • What has your experience been with federal programs that encourage and support youth participation in [engagement and inclusion/arts, culture, or heritage or history/commemoration] sectors?
      • What are the positive experiences/features of existing federal programs?
      • What are the negative experiences/features of existing federal programs?
    • What role does the federal government have in helping organizations to engage Canadian youth?
    • What type of support would be most welcomed by your organizations?

  • Wrap-up, and concluding comments (15 minutes)

Bilateral Interview Guide

The Government of Canada’s Department of Canadian Heritage helps Canadian youth:

  • participate actively in their communities and society,
  • contribute positively to Canada’s development, and
  • share a common understanding of what it means to be Canadian.

The purpose of this discussion is to hear your thoughts on how these goals can be pursued in the most effective way.  We are especially interested in hearing your views on engaging youth in your community.

Our discussion is one of several that are taking place across Canada with youth, youth-serving organizations, and service clubs who are working to encourage youth participation in communities.

All of these discussions will be combined to create a report that will inform our future decisions around how the Department of Canadian Heritage can support youth. Once finalized later in 2009, findings will be shared with all organizations who participated in the roundtable discussions. Your remarks will be presented in summary form, and will not be attributed directly to you in the final report; however, a list of all participants will be included.

Thank you very much for sharing your expertise with the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Questions:

  • What type of work are you currently doing to engage youth?

  • What works best in engaging youth in community activities?
    • When you’re designing a project to engage youth, what are some of the effective approaches you use?
    • When you’re delivering a project to engage youth, what are some of the best practices that you use?

  • What are some of the main challenges you face in engaging youth?

  • What are some of the best experiences you’ve had working with funders? What are some of the most challenging experiences?

  • Have you ever tried to receive government funding for your work? If not, why? If so, were you successful?

  • What could government do to help you work more effectively? Are there different things that you think the different levels of government should do?

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