This is part 1 of a 2-part series.

Sponsors: REJN/Youth Organizing Training Institute partners (REJN, Southern Echo and Concerned Citizens for a Better Tunica County).

Target Audience: Southern youth, ages 13-19, and adults who work with them.

Logistics: This is a 2-part workshop, to occur in 2-hour slots on two consecutive days. This design will allow concepts to settle in and for thinking and practice before the follow up session. PLEASE SCHEDULE IN THE SAME SPACE ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.

Purpose: Our aims are that young people will gain:
► An understanding of the political process and accountability mechanisms; a recognition that youth voices matter, have a special advantage, and need to be heard in decision-making processes; clarity on what youth have a right to demand; a view of the electoral process as a time to put forward demands and gain benefit; reasons to vote and to encourage others to vote; inspiration to work collectively; and inspiration to run for office
► Preparation to insert their concerns and remedies in the 2008 election campaigns – i.e. the ability to formulate and practice presenting their demands, learning what to say, where (opportunities) to say it and to whom
► Encouragement to put concerns and remedies together as a political agenda

Secondly, adults will gain more openness to creating spaces for young people’s voices in decision-making, see value for young people being politically active, and tips for effective intergenerational work.

Design
The workshop is co-facilitated by youth and adults. Designed to give young people maximum opportunity to speak, it uses a popular education format, drawing on handouts, visuals, music, small group discussions, role-plays, interactive presentations, Q&A, and creative expression.

Part 1: After a brief setting of the context (historical disenfranchisement and political role of youth), youth discuss in small groups: youth voices matter. This is followed by an interactive discussion of the political process: what is it? which covers duties & responsibilities of elected officials and accountability – how to ensure officials enforce the laws that exist. Youth then will brainstorm their concerns and remedies. We will close with an overview of the part 2 – Youth are invited to capture their ideas in cultural formats (spoken word, rap, song, drawings, chants, etc.).

Part 2: See proposal for Youth Power: Creating Change through Effective Political Participation: Part 2.

The workshop will be conducted in English. We do have equipment for translation, but do not have a translator. We will try to have core concepts recorded by a scribe in Spanish.

This workshop builds on the themes of the USSF by encouraging young people and adults to envision another world where youth voices and issues are engaged in the political process, young people serve in more decision-making roles, and social change organizations respect young people as vital to the social change movement and include their visions and concerns equitably. It also serves a movement building agenda by promoting transformational organizing principles, e.g. relationship building, accountability, multiculturalism and collective work – collective visioning and collective action on the basis of mutual benefit.