This workshop will benefit adults working with youth, such as teachers and health professionals. State and local tobacco control contacts seeking ideas for involving youth in a leadership capacity and youth leaders will also benefit.

Key Points:

Texas tobacco prevention agencies recognize the importance of youth input. This workshop will give an overview of the Texas Teen Ambassador Program, a group of Texas teens appointed to serve in this critical role of the state's tobacco prevention strategy. This workshop will describe how these agencies seek youth input and how the Ambassador Program has achieved success.

Teen Ambassadors will share their experiences and successes throughout the program's evolution. Experiences include designing programs and campaigns, serving as focus-group leaders, speaking on issues and promoting programs at conferences, meetings, and media outlets.

They will focus on the youth/adult partnership that must be present to achieve success in youth tobacco prevention and leadership programs. An open discussion will occur to help adult participants gain a better understanding of working with youth.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion: Participants will recognize importance of youth-led, adult-assisted partnerships, identify and overcome reservations about working with youth, and demonstrate a willingness to give youth leadership roles in tobacco prevention.

Benefits:

Main benefit: Opportunity to hear the teen perspective; to gain insight on how to work with teens.

Often, adults create programs to impact youth using “best practices.” While that is necessary, a missing factor in the “research” is involving youth in all stages of projects that are designed to affect them.