4-H Club

One of the biggest youth environmental programs in the country, the 4-H club, also holds the tenants of Youth-Adult Partnerships to be fundamental to its operation.  On its website, 4-H mentions belonging, mastery of skills, generosity, and independence as its four main tenants.  4-H encourages mastery of skills through going out and doing and practicing, not by being taught by an adult.  4-H offers independence so that youth can make their own decisions about what they want to do and can learn how to make good choices.  Of course, every 4-H chapter is run differently, so some are probably more partnership oriented than others, but it is a good sign that their National website encourages partnership instead of adult leadership.

I wonder if similar organizations, such as the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, can also be considered YAPs?  I know from my limited experience in the Boy Scouts that youth planned much of what went on, from the structure of meetings to the cooking of meals while camping.  Is the same true of the Girl Scouts?