Youth development means preparing young people to tackle everyday problems, make them engage in society and among the people so that they are able to have personal growth. Youth development allows young people to meet the challenges of adulthood and tackle problems in the face of adversity. It is promoted through activities and experiences that help youth develop social, ethical, emotional and cognitive ability. Likewise, positive youth development allows young people to tackle the problems and engage by looking at a 5C model. 5Cs include Competence, Character, Connection, Confidence and Compassion.
1. Competence
Youths need to have sufficient knowledge and learning ability to understand the working mechanisms among them. Having a feeling of competence allows you to be motivated for civic and social engagement. These engagements are most important for youths since it allows them to make connections with people and create a strong network. Competence also makes their emotional and physical health strong.
2. Character
Building up a good character makes one liked by everyone since young people now have a sense of responsibility, spirituality and self-awareness. These are important because you will be more independent and more inclined to your inner self, rather than listening and considering others judgements and opinions. They are better able to have an awareness of their own personality and have a collective perspective.
3. Connection
It means being able to connect to everyone around you. It is also a sense of connection with self that makes you understand yourself. You feel more inclined with society. You have a deeper connection wherever you are and have a sense of self-efficacy.
4. Confidence
If you are able to connect with yourself and have a greater cognitive ability, you are confident wherever you go. Being confident is the core of anything if one wants further development. Young people are now more able to have a clear look at the future and master any work given.
5. Compassion
It means having a sense of being cared for and loved. This allows for a positive development mainly when it comes to mental health. People start trusting you even more since you have more empathising ability and understanding of emotions. You are now able to form strong friendships among your friends, family and in society.
Hence, these 5Cs enhance youth development, gives them a positive outlook on life and a strong direction for the future. Any young people looking to develop or looking for personal growth should be able to consider these. 5Cs approach should be taught in school from the very beginning, parents need to focus more on these so that youths are able to make rational decisions for themselves further benefiting the society.