Generation Citizen is thrilled to be bringing 26 young people (ages 14-18), together the first week of August for our first-ever Democracy Education Youth Summit. The participants hail from 14 states across the country and will congregate in New York City for three days of activities, workshops, and collaboration.
The goal of the summit is to ensure that young people are front and center of the democracy education field by teaching them how and why to be politically and civically active in their institutions and their communities.
As we work towards our vision of a country in which all people are active and engaged citizens, fostering a democracy that truly represents the makeup of our country — we must start with young people. Action civics education is one way to equip young people with the tools they need to participate, but driving political motivation and participation requires the voices of young people themselves. We want to hear from young people on where they think the field and movement should go and after the summit, we will work to ensure that these young people remain involved as leaders in the field and space, formalizing a Youth Advisory Board for the field itself.
The young people who will be joining come from diverse backgrounds and experiences but are united by their belief in the importance of youth voice, youth participation, and a well-functioning democracy. They come hoping to attain a better understanding of how they can meaningfully get involved, and lead positive change, in their own communities and encourage others to do the same. Thank you to the collaborators from the field who helped nominate these young leaders:
Close UP Foundation
Student Voice and Activism Fellowship
Project Voyce
Gwinnett StoPP
Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC)
Youth Justice Board
American Bar Association’s Public Education Division
Mikva Challenge
We can’t wait to meet this wonderful group of young people and work together to reach our goals.