A quote and some words I pulled from the Providence Student Union website are "Providence Student Union cultivates students to become powerful advocates for their own education and well-being. PSU unites youth from across Providence to take the lead in reshaping their schools and communities right now." they use works like cultivate, unite, and "today's leaders" when talking about youth. I think this type of language really speaks to their ideas about working with young people through a social justice lense. I really like that they refer to youth as today's leaders vs. future leaders to empower them as current change agents and leaders in the work.
I've always admired and enjoyed learning about the work Youth in Action does with youth. I think they're a great example of leading with youth and social justice YDEV. I do however think their website doesn't represent that as well as seeing them in action does. A lot of their sentences start with "we create" and it doesn't feel like a youth centered website but more geared towards funders. While I know that the "we" probably does include youth and they have great intentions I think it could be more carefully outlined.
Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM) was a newer org for me to explore. I've heard their name come up in a few spaces I've been in but I didn't know a lot about them until exploring their site. I think their homepage being more blog style with updated posts/events is something I haven't seen from an organization before which is cool. I like that their values are categorized under peace, love, and power. I feel a strong sense of community when I read their mission and vision.
Thank you for your post Kelly and for pulling out these reflections from the three orgs. I appreciate the questions you raise about the language in YIA's website and I think it brings up a lot of important questions about what it means to be "youth-centered" in our language and in-practice. I would love to learn more about your philosophy on youth leadership and partnership with adults. YIA describes their philosophy this way "At YIA we offer the notion of “best selves” and a deep commitment to intergenerational collaboration. We believe that youth and adults can learn from each other and work together to address issues within our communities. At YIA, adults serve in the role of mentorship and allyship, amplifying the voices of youth and collaboratively cultivating a space for genuine, sustainable youth-led work." How does/ doesn't this resonate for you?
ReplyDeleteKelly the statement "leading with youth and social justice YDEV" is so powerful. I agree how we should walk with the youth and not above or over them. It was great to read about where you connected to youth in the scale.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked the pictures you selected and how you set up this blog. I also identified with social justice ideology.
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