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The vast majority of young people have little or no confidence in their ability to influence school superintendents, police chiefs, elected officials and other decision makers. They are right to be skeptical. Even well funded adult-run advocacy campaigns fail to persuade the powers-that-be. But there is no denying the triumphant examples of youth-led projects that validate Margaret Mead’s inspiring line:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens
can change the world. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Such success stories can serve as a catalyst in convincing minors that they can be effective change agents. As long as young people are unaware of teens—even tweens—making history, they are likely to accept the justifiably cynical attitude: “Why bother? Who will listen to us?”
Despite efforts of national clearinghouses such as ours that track and publicize youth-driven initiatives, most of these stories vanish. The ‘silo effect’ contributes to this problem. Typically each organization tends to be so focused on its own mission that it is clueless about the campaigns involving young people on other issues on the other side of town. Turnover among youth workers, community organizers and educators increases the likelihood that prior victories will soon be forgotten. Recognition ceremonies and awards help, but rarely provide more than the proverbial 15 minutes of fame.
Thanks to the growth of visual arts, documentation of grassroots movements is booming. Digital cameras and mini-cams mean web sites help keep this history alive. Perhaps one day there will be multimedia venues, modeled after Cleveland’s Rock ‘n Roll Museum, that showcase how young people can move mountains—well, at least motivate or shame policy makers to take action.
For the meantime, the Youth Activism Project suggests a low-tech storytelling method as a tool to inspire and teach youth-led advocacy.
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SEARCH LOCALLY - Contact local youth organizations, public interest groups, school board, city council, etc. A key question might be: “In the past few years, have students or out-of-school youth given formal testimony or been a spokesperson at a news conference?” Be prepared for a quick “no” and be persistent. |
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RESEARCH NATIONALLY - Target state and national organizations that are working on the same issue as your group, for example, teen suicide prevention. Explain you are looking for examples of young people who have played significant roles. Usually you will learn about peer education and community awareness activities. Expect to dig deeper to find young people who have been involved in the public policy arena. |
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COLLECT ARTICLES, VIDEO CLIPS, etc. – Request copies of newsletters, print pages from web sites filled with photographs, see about getting a videotape of a TV story featuring young activists. This visual evidence is particularly useful in dispelling the myth that those not old enough to vote are powerless. |
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INCLUDE SPECIFIC STRATEGIES – Assemble a case study that details the school or community issue, the age range and number of youth (and adults) involved, their research methods (surveys, forums, community mapping, etc.), recruiting supporters, collaborating with other organizations, gaining media attention, meeting with key decision makers and, of course, their ultimate victory. |
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PRESENT AND CRITIQUE – Share these true stories, ideally enhanced with photographs, video clips, etc., and facilitate a discussion about how and why these young advocates were successful. Encourage conversation about the overall campaign and expect some to disagree with either the proposed solution or particular tactics. Then brainstorming can move toward identifying a community problem and developing a gameplan for action. |
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MIX IT UP – Consider including a few stories that are fiction and let the participants guess whether they are true or not. Such a “Believe It Or Not” approach enlivens the discussion and engages the audience to a greater degree. This interactive storytelling method is outlined in detail with examples and video clips, in our training toolkit called “Knock-Your-Socks-Off Training Teens to be Successful Activists! The Complete Guide to Facilitating this 1-2 Hour Workshop.” (To order, visit http://www.youthactivism.com/prodindex.php or call us at 1-800-KID-POWER.) |
Expectations change when young people and equally important, their adult advisors learn about what other teenagers have done in changing a policy, helping to defeat a proposal, or getting a law passed. The possibility and plausibility of youth as change agents spur the imagination to move beyond the comfort zone of traditional community service to challenging the status quo.
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