Now & Next Youth Quest Program

The Youth Quest program is designed to provide young people with positive support in crafting their life vision over 12 hours (distributed over 2 or 3 days). The collaborative game is played over 4 Levels, using an innovative visual way to embed the Keys to Citizenship framework in its curriculum. 

This framework inspires the Journey Map that participants craft at the end of the program: they plan how to harness their signature strengths, which Keys they will use, and who would best support them to achieve their future goals.

The program engages young people in their life planning to increase positive learning and life outcomes. It coaches them to:

• Identify their unique strengths and how they come into play in their lives.
• Co-design their planning to formulate a personal vision that inspires them
• Develop their vision into goals.
• Unpack goals into smaller achievable steps to build their confidence in goal
• setting and goal achieving.

Who is the program suitable for?

Youth from ages 15 to 21 seeking positive support and guidance in formulating a life vision.

Youth with ASD/neurodiversity, cognitive/learning disabilities and ADHD.

The programme is not yet suitable for youth with visual and hearing impairment - it is being adapted towards future enrolments.

What will participants learn?

Participants will:

• Develop knowledge and experience about the visioning and planning process and its connection to wellbeing. The output is an inspirational vision board filled with goals.
• Prioritise one long-term goal for each category and learn to implement strategies to achieve them.
• Unpack their goals from long to short-term, experiment completing them by taking small achievable steps by utilising our bespoke ‘Goal 2 Action’ tool and building capacity to take control of their own progress.
• Develop collaborative skills to support each other and form a peer support network to continue learning together after the program.
• Devise inclusion solutions through everyday citizenship by utilising the Keys to Citizenship framework, for instance to advocate for their freedom to pursue their dreams and contribute their gifts to the community.

About the Now & Next suite of programs

The Now & Next programs were launched in 2015 in Sydney by Sylvana Mahimc and Dr. Annick Janson, mothers of adult sons. The programs initially ran for parents of young children with special needs. Since then, more than 200 programs have been completed with over 1000 graduate alumni in 8 countries.

Find out more about the Now & Next: 

• Suite of programs at: https://www.ftitrust.org/now-and-next-program-full
• Research reports at: https://www.ftitrust.org/research
• Youth Quest Program Podcast at: https://youtu.be/KWT3Hb4Nb60