Youth Leader
RoadMap
Unlock your potential to drive social impact in your community. This kit guides you from self-awareness to becoming a genuine changemaker — equipped to combat hate speech and build inclusive communities through digital activism.
Every journey needs a first step
This kit is structured as a progressive journey — from understanding yourself as a young leader, to working with others, to creating lasting impact in your community.
What you need to know before you begin
They started just like you
Every changemaker begins with a wish for something to be different. Here are four young leaders sharing what drives them.
ME as a young leader
Youth leadership starts with you. Hover each competency to learn more.
Core competencies
"Storytelling creates trust, increases interest and engages your audience so they can understand and share your vision and objectives."HUMAN Youth Leader Resource Kit
Explore leadership concepts
Leadership can be assumed by anyone. It is the process of guiding and influencing others, based on self-knowledge and self-confidence. Leadership is only successful with the support and consensus of those being led — it is as much about human relationships as it is about organisational duties.
Youth leadership is a bilateral process: (1) discovering your own strengths, weaknesses and goals, while improving your individual capacities and self-confidence; and (2) developing skills to guide and inspire others, becoming an example. It means finding your voice, working in a team, managing projects, and inspiring others to act on issues like hate speech, discrimination, and exclusion.
Are you ready to challenge yourself? Begin with a self-knowledge exercise based on the Johari Window Model — a tool that helps you understand how you see yourself versus how others see you.
Fridays for YOUng
This is Mário's story — a real example of how a young person turned an idea into a movement, step by step.
ME & Others
Youth finds inspiration in many places. Transforming ideas into Social Impact Projects can feel like a giant task — this module guides you on how to share your cause, awaken motivation in others, and get them on board. Hover for more ↗
Think of a situation where you experienced cultural diversity. Reflect on: What did you know about the other person's background? What made you curious? What did you feel when you encountered something different from what you expected? How did you react — and how would you react differently now?
Reflect on ways to create safe spaces where team members feel comfortable sharing their opinions. Consider: small group discussions, informal conversations, anonymous questionnaires, written or visual sharing methods, and turn-taking rules. Which of these could work in your team right now?
Seek out opportunities to connect with people from different backgrounds. Create a safe space for conversation. Try to identify what makes them feel happy and comfortable. Show genuine interest — without judgement — in the differences you discover. Practice active listening: listen to understand, not just to respond.
Evaluate the main competencies of each team member. Then assign tasks that allow them to develop and strengthen those competencies — including their areas for improvement. Involve the team in deciding which tasks should be delegated to whom. Remember: focus on results, not on how the work is done.
Build your powerful story
Storytelling creates trust, increases interest, and engages your audience so they can understand and share your vision. A compelling story moves people from observers to participants.
ME & the Community
Community is a central element of identity. Click each pillar to explore what it means for your work as a young leader. Why young people?
The concept of community is related to a set of social relations, based on something its members have in common.
Solidarity is the result produced from shared interests, objectives and patterns within a group. It is what keeps communities moving in difficult situations — such as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crises, situations of racism, discrimination against minorities, and wars. It is important that, as a young leader, you explain to your peers during the development of a SIP that community connection does not exist if solidarity is absent from the group.
Territory refers to the specific geographic area where a group of people, a community or a neighbourhood lives. Common practices and similar ways of living in a defined area are elements that contribute to the building of a spirit of identity and belonging to a specific place. By supporting local initiatives, young leaders can contribute — through their social actions — to growing or reinforcing a sense of community and inspire their peers to participate too.
Social belonging is the subjective feeling of inclusion or acceptance in a group of people. This sense of community in a social group is a basic human need that people must satisfy in order to maintain their own identity, physical wellbeing, and mental health. To build a sense of belonging, it is important to create an emotional connection with other community members — this will make it possible to create a sense of trust and proximity. To promote this feeling, it is also important that each person feels respected in their values and beliefs.
Needs Analysis
Hover each method for practical guidance
Community Profile
Understanding your community is the foundation of any effective Social Impact Project. The diagram below shows the five key steps and the dimensions to explore at each stage.
Hover diamonds for description · Click sub-nodes for guiding questions
Click any dimension to explore the key questions
• Where does your target group live and meet?
• Are there public spaces in your neighbourhood?
• What infrastructure could you use for the implementation of your SIP?
• Who do you want to help?
• What cultures exist in your community?
• What are the dominant values?
• What is the age, gender, cultural background, etc. of the population you want to work with?
• What motivates your community?
• How does your community react to and overcome more difficult issues?
• What opportunities do you identify in your community based on the data you have collected?
• How does the community benefit from your SIP?
• What resources do you need to achieve your objectives? What is available and accessible?
• Who are the reference people in your community?
• Who can you connect with?
• Who can support you in implementing your SIP?
• What challenges might you encounter?
• What risks exist?
• How would you overcome them?
• Who would you contact to seek support?
What do you want to achieve with your SIP? Define your SMART objectives — for them to be useful, they need to be:
• Specific: the objectives are clear
• Measurable: you can evaluate and measure the success and completion of objectives
• Achievable: the objectives are realistic
• Relevant: the objectives respond to identified needs
• Time-bound: set deadlines indicating when objectives will be completed
The Importance of Scale
Global issues always have local manifestations. For a young leader, working at community level on big topics means asking the right questions at each scale. Click each level to see the guiding questions for that scale.
🌍 Example topic: Climate Change
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges humanity faces today. It affects all countries and can have devastating effects on communities and people.
• Do you notice differences in biodiversity, the marine environment, sea levels, etc.?
• Are there social problems related to climate change?
• Do you think climate change will increase global inequalities?
• Do you think government actions are adequate to counter the climate crisis?
• Do you notice any differences compared to the past?
Reflect with your colleagues and community about the daily impact of climate change in your life.
• Where can you find reliable information on green actions?
• Are there habits you can change to respect and preserve the environment?
Think of practical things you can do in your daily activities to counter the problem.
🧠 Example topic: Mental Health
Millions of people worldwide have mental health problems — the UN estimates one in four people will experience mental health issues during their lifetime.
• From your perspective, how do social, political and economic aspects affect mental health?
• What decisions should governments adopt to address this issue?
• How do inequalities between regions affect mental health and its treatment?
• Is it easy to access mental health treatment in your community?
• Are there stigmas about mental health problems in your community?
• Do you feel comfortable talking about mental health with your friends and/or peers?
Social Impact Project Lifecycle
Click each phase for key questions and tips
Annexes & Materials
Practical tools to deepen your learning. Click each card to see what is inside.
- ME & Others: The Ideal Young Leader (45 min) — Getting to Know Each Other / Group Agreement (70 min)
- ME & the Community: Welcome to My Neighbourhood / Emotional Map (60 min) — Developing a Local Strategy using the GROW Model (45 min)
- Act as a role model for your peers and community
- Commit to the project and maintain that commitment to its objectives until the end
- Stay informed and remain at the forefront of social issues
- Develop a sense of initiative to carry out activities for and with your community
- Guide your peers to become active members of their community
- Collaborate with your team and with local partners (municipalities, associations, sports organisations, etc.)
- Know the resources available for the topics you wish to work on
- Receive appropriate training and clear guidance to strengthen your skills and knowledge
- Receive support in developing strong leadership capacities
- Gain experience in volunteering and team management that can strengthen your CV
- Build connections with other young leaders at local, national, and European level
Download PDF ↗
Wisdom for the journey ahead
Being a successful youth leader takes time. Don't stress — go step by step. You may not have all the competencies detailed on these pages right now, but you can develop them through others or learn them through practice. Trust your potential!
The HUMAN project has been co-financed by the EU CERV-2023-EQUAL programme. Its contents are the sole responsibility of its authors. The European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project: 101144478 — HUMAN — CERV-2023-EQUAL