What is Youth Organizing?

Youth organizing is an innovative youth development and social justice strategy that trains young people in community organizing and advocacy, and assists them in employing these skills to alter power relations and create meaningful institutional change in their communities.

Youth organizing relies on the power and leadership of youth acting on issues defined by and affecting young people and their communities, and involves them in the design, implementation, and evaluation of these efforts. Youth organizing employs activities such as political education and analysis, community research, campaign development, direct action and membership recruitment.

Youth Organizing Impact

The FCYO believes youth organizing has the potential to:

Individual-level Impact
• Build the individual skills of young people, especially in critical and analytic problem-solving, and teamwork and collaboration.
• Develop principled, accountable leadership among young people in the context of collective and community well-being, history and culture.
• Instill awareness in young people about the root causes of issues, and the social and political forces that shape their surrounding as well as their own identities
• Develop young people's sense of self-agency and belief in the potential for positive systemic change

Group-level Impact
• Build collaboration and cohesion among youth and adults
• Build collective purpose among youth and adults

Community-level Impact
• Challenge serious problems facing communities nationwide, especially low-income and of color communities, and work to ensure that systems and policies are accountable, equitable and fair to the communities they serve.
• Confront racism and discrimination, and its role in creating and perpetuating social inequities that disproportionately impact people of color.
• Connect youth issues to broader community issues
• Alter the perception of youth in the community by adults and policymakers, and brings young people and their perspectives into important networks and decision-making bodies.