How often do your interactions leave a young person feeling more aware of their own strengths?

Strengths-based practice is more than a mindset, it’s a deliberate shift in how you see, talk about, and respond to young people. This session digs into the first of three PYDA approaches, exploring what it means in practice to focus on capability and potential rather than risk and deficit. Central to this is the concept of mana, the inherent worth and potential that every young person carries and how recognising and affirming mana shapes the way we engage with rangatahi. You’ll reflect on where your current practice already aligns, where the gaps are, and how a strengths-based lens changes the everyday interactions that matter most.

Part of the PYDA Series, five standalone sessions exploring the Positive Youth Development in Aotearoa framework. Attend one or all five.

Whether you’ve been meaning to do the full-day PYDA training and haven’t found the time, or there’s a particular topic you want to explore, the series is designed to fit around your work without asking you to give up a whole day. Each session stands on its own, so you can register for one, a few, or all five. If you do make it to all five, you’ll come away with the complete PYDA framework under your belt, the same foundation covered in the full-day training.

PYDA is the professional foundation for working well with young people, a developmental lens that moves practice from good instinct to intentional, evidence-informed action. Grounded in Positive Youth Development and situated in bicultural Aotearoa, the framework covers two core outcomes — Developing the Whole Person and Developing Connected Communities — and three practical approaches: Strengths-Based Practice, Respectful Relationships, and Building Ownership and Empowerment. Each session in the series takes one of these as its focus, building a complete picture of what it means to work well with rangatahi, whatever your role or sector.

These hui are free and open to anyone working with or for young people. No prior PYDA training required.

We’d love to have you with us.

Ngā mihi nui,

Penny and Angelina,

The Youth Development Champions Project

*These hui are free and catered. In order for us to keep it that way, please help us out and let us know if you can no longer make it at least 3 days in advance.

‍

Contact the host of PYDA Series | Approach 1 | Strengths-Based Practice

There were 0 errors found in the information you submitted: