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Moving Mississippi beyond Jim Crow one voter at a time

Anoa Changa

April 29, 2022 |

Scalawag |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Mississippi

Mississippi Votes has engaged tens of thousands of young voters as well as those who have not historically participated in the electoral process. The organization boosted their digital presence to reach younger voters, engaged people as young as 16 in different capacities, and has several paid fellowships to engage youth more intensively in conducting voter outreach, education, and registration. The organization has registered over 30,000 new voters since 2018.

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Good Talk

Jennifer Miller

March 16, 2022 |

The Washington Post |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania created a Civil Dialogue Seminar to teach students how to communicate across political divides. The seminar, which is part of a growing civil dialogue movement taking place among Gen Z, includes social psychology curriculum to help students navigate difficult conversations with people they disagree with. Students participate in the Red and Blue Exchange, small group conversations about controversial topics, where they practice having conversations about issues that elicit strong responses. Students also investigate their own emotional responses with weekly journal reflections.

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California offers graduation honor to encourage active civic engagement

John Fensterwald

February 08, 2022 |

EdSource |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

The State Seal of Civic Engagement, which is affixed to high school diplomas, recognizes student civic participation. The program is intended to increase civic participation among youth and strengthen civics curriculum by making the learning more active instead of passive. Criteria for what qualifies for the seal varies and is meant to be inclusive and accessible. It ranges from high-level demonstrated knowledge in civics courses to participation in actual civic engagement projects. Several districts have partnered with a nonprofit that supplies “action civics” curriculum and teacher training.

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How Gen Z Is Fighting Back Against Big Tech

Elaine Meyer

November 24, 2021 |

Yes! Magazine |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

A growing Generation Z movement is pushing back against social media companies and the pervasiveness of technology in young people’s lives, which can negatively impact mental health. LookUp is one organization that funds young people working to increase digital wellbeing. Funded initiatives include a youth summit that drew 1,200 people, apps that help people manage their social media usage and identify the connections to their wellbeing, and NoSo November, which urges young people to log off or delete all social media apps for the month of November as a group experience rather than an isolating one.

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Animation Films, Storybooks Spark Anti-corruption Interests Among Nigerian Children

Angela Umoru

October 26, 2021 |

Prime Progress |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria

Step Up Nigeria’s "Catch Them Young Initiative" uses children’s storybooks and animated films to teach school children how to become anti-corruption ambassadors. The books, which have recently been adapted to animated films, address the dangers of corrupt practices like vote-buying and bribery. The organization not only distributes the books and films, but also trains teachers to give the lessons. Over 250 teachers have been trained and at least 20,000 children have received anti-corruption education materials.

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Why bother? Greater Cleveland's youth rise to the task of local civic engagement

Michael Indriolo

October 05, 2021 |

The Land |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland high school students created votecle.com, a website that centralizes information about local elections. A political alignment survey on the site assesses users’ opinions on important political issues to match them with local candidates. The group focuses outreach on drop-off voters, people who reliably vote in national elections but not local ones. These voters tend to be younger, on average, and cite a lack of information about local candidates and issues as the main reason for not voting. After creating the website, the group got a grant from Cleveland Votes to continue engaging young voters.

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This Nonprofit Eliminated a Simple Barrier Keeping New Orleans Teens From Their Summer Internships

Emily Nonko

May 27, 2021 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

Onerous paperwork and required legal documents keep many youth - especially those not living with legal guardians - from taking part in city internships, so YouthForce NOLA worked with the city to pilot an internship program with fewer barriers. The streamlined application included workarounds for common issues, like allowing public school records to certify residency, accepting approval from non-legal guardians, and providing a checklist with exactly what records they need and how they can get them. The added support reduced anxiety among the youth and significantly increased retention in the internships.

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Washington School kids receive lesson on ‘Participatory Budgeting'

Beverly Barela

May 13, 2021 |

Merced County Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Merced County, California

Student leaders formed the Participatory Budget Committee at a Merced River School and ran the voting process for students decide which initiatives would be funded. The students had a budget of $5,000 to allocate and used actual county voting booths. The winning project was the modernization of campus restrooms. Students learned about participatory budgeting and brainstormed a set of four projects they felt were most needed at the school. They held regular meetings, highlighting the importance of civic involvement.

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‘What difference would that make?'

Kiran Misra

April 30, 2021 |

The Chicago Reader |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

A participatory budgeting pilot in ten Chicago Public Schools empowers students to influence change by deciding how small grants, typically $1,000 to $2,000, should be spent for school improvement. Students brainstorm ideas, construct persuasive proposals, and vote on which to implement, providing valuable lessons in civic participation. The proposals revealed student needs that staff hadn’t previously considered. Ultimately, grants supported gender-neutral bathrooms, locker room shower curtains, a peer mentoring program, and spaces for students to reflect and decompress when feeling overwhelmed.

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Local groups are working to keep 18-year-olds in PA excited about voting after record turnouts in 2021

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

April 01, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philly Youth Vote is a nonpartisan effort, organized by a local social studies teacher, to prepare 18-year-olds to vote. In addition to registering about 700 students in the summer of 2020, the group advocates changing social studies curriculum to include more lessons on civic participation. To connect students with on local issues that directly impact them, they brought 27 candidates to speak in 11 virtual classrooms. The students interviewed the candidates and other schools have used the recordings of the interviews as well. 74% of registered 18-year-olds in Philadelphia cast a ballot in 2020.

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