connecting youth with society

1. The Power of ‘Positive
Deviance’
Mathijs Euwema
International Child Development Initiatives
(ICDI)
Connecting Youth with Society Conference,
Antwerp 9 December 2011

2. What is
Positive Deviance?
Solutions before our very
eyes
The Premise:
In every community there are certain individuals whose uncommon
practices/behaviors enable them to find better solutions to problems than
their neighbors who have access to the same resources
2

3. Positive Deviance
(PD) Approach
• Identifying Solutions to Community
Problems Within the Community Today
The Key Question?
What enables some members of the community
(the “Positive Deviants”) to find better solutions
to pervasive problems than their neighbors who have access
to the same resources?
3

4. PD Inquiry
Establishes community behavioral norms
related to the problem to be
addressed
Uncovers successful uncommon behaviors/
strategies practiced by the Positive Deviants
4

5. Analyzing PD Findings
rs
av i o
es
gi
B eh
te
ra
st
s
PD
ice
ct
PDI findings are passed through pr
a
a conceptual “accessibility sieve”
Only those behaviors/strategies
Ac
Ac
accessible to all are kept
ce
ce
ss
ss
iib
bll
e
e
The rest are “TBU,” True but Useless (i.e.
to
to
Al
Al
not accessible to all) and are discarded
ll
5

6. Focus on PD
Behavior
We can’t (yet) clone people
• But we can adopt their successful
behaviors/strategies
6

7. PD Focus on Practice rather than
knowledge
“It’s easier to ACT your way into a new way of THINKING,
than to
THINK your way into a new way of ACTING”
7

8. PD enables us to
act complex, interlinked underlying causes . . .
TODAY
Although most problems have
The presence of Positive Deviants demonstrates that it is
possible to find successful solutions TODAY before all the
underlying causes are addressed!
8

9. PD Inquiry is an “Ends”
as well as
“Means”
MEANS To discover successful,
replicable PD behaviors
ENDS
To empower community to discover and “own” their
own solution, based on their own resources
9

10. ICDI’s Positive Deviance project in
Netherlands 2010
Funded by Ministry of SZW as part of the
European year to fight poverty and social
exclusion

11. Our idea: mainstream non formal leisure
time activities can support integration of
children and youth with a migrant
background.
(we coined the term ‘yomics’ and ‘yomacs’;
youth from minority and youth from
majority cultures)

12. What we did
-Interviews and focus groups with youth who
participate or have participated in mainstream
non formal leisure time activities
-Similar interviews with youth workers/experts etc.
-Draft a discussion paper based on these
interviews and desk research
-Seminar to bring stakeholders together and to
generate enthusiasm for the Positive Deviance
approach

13. Seminar

15. Some quotes
“Kinderen hebben mensen nodig die in hen geloven.” Lilia, teenage
moeder, nu HBO student
“Het zou zo goed zijn indien we wat meer met elkaar konden praten,
dingen konden bespreken en konden doen. Met de gemeente, met
ander jongerenwerkers, met ouders, met jongeren. Samen.” Salim,
jongeren opbouwwerker
“Ik heb daar geleerd hoe ik me zelf kan verwoorden en hoe ik sneller
contact kan maken met anderen. Ik heb er meer zelfvertrouwen
door gekregen.” Umut, deelnemer aan studentenmentorprogramma

16. Important notions
-Don’t focus on what goes wrong, focus on what
works;
-Positive deviant adults play a crucial role;
-Listen to positive deviant youngsters and involve
them in activities (even better: let them design,
initiate and lead activities);
-Stop the well meant but ineffective little “sexy”
youth participation projects; instead use the PD
approach to stimulate and develop community
based initiatives;

17. “Action” Plan (using
the
Positive Deviance approach)
Step 1: You, municipal policymaker, youthleader, trainer, teacher, parent, etc., you make
an inventory in your street, neighbourhood or municipality, of people and
organizations that organize non-formal leisure activities for childrend and young
people.
Stap 2: You engage in conversations with people organizing such activities. You also
look closely at where already is being worked with mixed groups of Yomics and
Yomacs.
Stap 3: You invite the different organizations and individuals for exchange meetings.
During these meetings you will try and create enthusiasm for the idea of involving
more Yomics in their activities. Together you formulate strategies to make this
happen.
Stap 4: More Yomics are being involved in non-formal leisure time activities. You
oversee this process and regularly organize follo-up meetings with the stakeholders.
Succes stories are being collected and shared with the media and community.

18. Discussion
-Can it be this simple?
-What is your opinion of the usefulness of
the Positive Deviance approach to
stimulate integration of migrant youth (or
for other youth issues)?
-Other things?

19. More info
www.icdi.nl
mathijs@icdi.nl
www.positivedeviance.org