Transforming Positive Youth Development: A Case for Youth Organizing

Throughout 2020, we have witnessed young people of color advance powerful change in the social and political structures that perpetuate inequity in their lives. From ending the school-to-prison pipeline to ensuring a just response to COVID-19, their organizing efforts have and continue to bear incredible impact on our communities. But the benefits of youth organizing are not limited to the community level. Instead, as young folks transform our world, they too are transformed.

FCYO is excited to announce the release of Transforming Positive Youth Development: A Case for Youth Organizing, a study of the unique contribution organizing plays in a young person’s development.

Building off our Powerful Transformations capacity-building initiative, Dr. Kim Sabo-Flores of Algorhythm conducted a two-year inquiry into 500 young people’s experiences using rigorous pre- and post-test methods to compare the developmental outcomes of young people engaged in organizing with those engaged in more traditional youth development programs.

The findings confirm our belief that engaging young people in organizing is one of the best ways to support their holistic development. The report provides strong evidence that in their organizing work, youth organizing groups use and improve upon high quality, research-based youth development practices that not only drive significant growth in young people’s social-emotional learning, but also foster sociopolitical participation and advocacy.

At FCYO, we are proud to champion youth organizing as a critical tool for young people’s development and an essential ingredient in our work for a more just world.