Howland Symposium

Youth Engagement Symposium Series

This series is part of the Howland Symposium and is funded in part by Inquiry to Impact.

Past Speakers

• Theresa K. Sullivan, Friday Sept. 26, 2008
  See the presentation, Terms of Engagement
• Wendy Wheeler, Friday Oct. 24, 2008
  See the presentation, The Leading Edge – Exploring Youth Engagement Innovation.
  View the panel discussion on Exploring Youth Engagement.
• Constance Flanagan, Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008
  See the presentation and view the panel discussion on Youth Engagement, Social Trust, and the Future of Democracy
• Lasse Siurala, Friday, May 8, 2009
  A European Perspective on Youth Work Concepts, Policies and Practices

About the topic and series

This series of symposia on youth engagement will give a public face to momentum we’ve been feeling and nurturing in the state of Minnesota for quite some time. It’s all this talk, conferences and projects about youth engagement.

What is it? What does the research say about it—what are its benefits and how do you do it well? Why is it important? What do we, as a state, need in order to promote and support youth engagement?

At these three Symposiums, you will learn about:

• A new typology or framework for defining different types of youth engagement, unique challenges and benefits of each, and what it takes to do them well, including findings from case studies of youth engagement around Minnesota;
• Findings from a multi-site demonstration project around collective leadership—the notion that youth and adults together, sharing ideas and experiences, is redefining our traditional notions of leadership and is at the core of all youth engagement;
• Leading thinking, research and systems change work around the practice of civic engagement as a tool for rebuilding young people’s social trust and capital;
• New youth engagement resources, training, grants, online information, toolkits, events, and more!

Join national and local experts in youth engagement as we learn from current research and innovative practice, and unveil a statewide initiative to support and promote youth engagement.

About the Speakers

Theresa K. Sullivan

Friday Sept. 26, 2008
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
See the presentation, Terms of Engagement.

Terri Sullivan is serving an 18-month appointment as a Howland Chair for Youth Engagement and Youth Leadership Development at the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development.  Her focus in the past 15 years has been on bridging research and practice to empower youth as agents of community change. 

Terri will present a new framework to help decipher the many and varied definitions, goals and principals of “youth engagement” found in literature and among researchers and practitioners around the state.  She will synthesize what youth and adult practitioners, participants, and researchers say it takes to make the most of youth engagement opportunities to benefit participating youth, adults, organizations, and communities.

We will unveil several new youth engagement resources, including training and tools both digitally and face-to-face, and an unanticipated youth engagement opportunity.

Terms of Engagement
Theresa K. Sullivan

Wendy Wheeler

Friday Oct. 24, 2008
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
See the presentation, and view the panel discussion, The Leading Edge – Exploring Youth Engagement Innovation.

Wendy Wheeler is the president and founder of The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development. An expert in youth development, leadership, organizational, and community development, Wendy works closely with youth organizations, universities, communities, and philanthropic institutions to increase youth engagement in communities and adult partnerships with youth.

She will highlight the practical elements and innovations that promote authentic youth engagement and collective leadership. This symposium will explore a variety of methods, tools, and program innovations that allows youth and adults to engage together in leadership and change.

Constance Flanagan

Tuesday Nov. 18, 2008
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
See the presentation and view the panel discussion on Youth Engagement, Social Trust, and the Future of Democracy.

Constance Flanagan is a leading expert in the area of adolescent civic and political development. She earned her PhD in developmental psychology at the University of Michigan and is currently a professor of youth and civic development in the Department of Agricultural and Extension at Penn State University.

Her program of work, “Adolescents and the social contract” focuses on the ways that young people interpret the rights and obligations individuals and societies owe one another. Her presentation will focus on research about the developmental correlates of social trust.

Lasse Siurala, Ph. D.

Friday, May 8, 2009
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
A European Perspective on Youth Work Concepts, Policies and Practices

Lasse Siurala, Ph. D. served as the Director of the Department of Youth for the city of Helsinki from 1995 until 1998, and again from 2002 to the present. From 1998-2001 he led of the Directorate of Youth and Sport for the Council of Europe. Prior to his work with the Department of Youth, he was a lecturer, researcher, and associate professor at the Helsinki School of Economics.

Questions or comments?

Contact: Melissa Peick at 612-624-7139 or mpeick@umn.edu for more information.
Register: Call 612-624-1999, or register online.

About the Howland Symposium

The Howland Symposium is designed to bridge research and practice around critical youth development issues. It is hosted by the Center for Youth Development and made possible with funds from the Minnesota 4-H Foundation’s Howland Endowment.

The University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development’s mission is to serve as a catalyst, resource, and advocate to ensure quality community opportunities for all young people to learn, lead, and contribute. The Center’s goal is to make measureable difference in the quality, availability, and impact of our out-of-school time opportunities for Minnesota’s youth.