Center for Multicultural Cooperation

Youth Voice Issue Videos: One of the goals of the California Voices program is to empower students to solve real problems and to participate in the democratic process, using media to express their voices on current issues affecting their community. Students identify issues that they think are important and deliberate what they want to do about it. They interview experts and students about the issue, develop potential solutions, produce a video, and present it to educate their peers and the public about their ideas. Go to www.californiavoices.org to see Youth Issue Videos.

The Youth Graduation Empowerment Project will engage youth participation as researchers, educators, planners and advocates, along with adults, to address the California Dropout Crisis. Students will learn and practice service-learning and civic engagement skills through their participation in the challenge of reforming schools to meet the needs the 21st Century. The Project will mobilize diverse high school students statewide, including drop-outs, who will address chronically low high school graduation rates in California, through research, service-learning and civic engagement.

Call to Action
High school students, representing the diverse youth population of California, call upon secondary students in our state, during the ’08-’09 school year, to engage in 3 critical actions:
1. Organize a youth-led research campaign to review past youth proposals, current research and to survey students to gain their perspectives on causes and potential solutions to the Dropout Crisis on California.
2. Implement service-learning projects that develop, support or evaluate innovative projects that encourage students to succeed in school and beyond.
3. Identify the most significant changes in schools that will empower more students to graduate, develop local and state policy proposals that will implement those changes and advocate for their approval by policymakers.

The Youth Development Network for Region 7 is comprised of educators, student leaders, business, government and community leaders, who share the common interest of preparing youth to become successful in school, prepared for the 21st Century workforce and ethical participants in our schools and communities. The Network collaborates with programs at the state and national level to share ideas and resources, such as the Service-Learning Consortium for Region 7, the California Civic Mission of Schools Campaign, the Bonner Center for Character Education and the Central Valley Afterschool Foundation. Partners for the Youth Development Network come from Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties.