Engaging Youth

Three times in the past year and a half, the staff of the Forum for Youth Investment has had the opportunity to organize and facilitate panel presentations in which young people bring their voices to bear on the struggle of school reform.

This volume pulls together a range of reflections from members of the International Learning Group (ILG) members, Latin American friends and staff. The bulk of the volume is devoted to the individual and collective essays, interviews, statements and reports written or inspired by the ILG members during and after the Latin American visit.

This guide provides a roadmap through many documents and several years of work on the Community and Youth Development Series that was published with the support of the Ford Foundation in an effort to consolidate answers to basic questions.

This report explores three important trends and their implications: 1) Our understanding of how to best address the problems and needs of youth, 2) there is interest within the field that provides fresh impetus for youth as change agents, and 3) youth are increasingly tackling challenges in their community.

To further the exploration of the changing role of community development organizations (CDOs) in youth development work, the Ford Foundation retained Community Development Associates, Inc., (CDA) in January of 1998 to conduct an investigation of the interconnection between youth development work and that of community-based organizations.

This youth council was formed to examine issues of importance to youth, such as: education, employment, strategies to increase youth participation in government, safe environments for youth, substance abuse, emotional and physical health, foster care, poverty, homelessness, and youth access to services.

The VTSP Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is made up of one peer elected member from each VTLSP School. The council meets three times per year and each member must commit to two major safety projects in the school year. Sponsored by the Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program.

The San Francisco Youth Commission is a diverse group of 17 young people between the ages of 12 and 23. The youth come from all across the city to serve as the official youth voice at City Hall.