Breaking Through Barriers: Elevating the Voices of Young People

Breaking Through Barriers: Elevating the Voices of Young People
Virtual via Zoom and Live Streamed via YouTube

Event Materials:

Overview:

During the summer of 2020, the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) hosted its first-ever youth-only discussion groups. During these virtual conversations with systems-involved youth, staff learned about the experiences of young people, how their educational/workforce goals were impacted by COVID-19 and gained valuable insight regarding how adults could better support their needs. Below please find key-takeaways from our conversations with young people this summer:

 

 

 

 

For full-sized versions, click on the above images.

Building upon these conversations, AYPF was proud to host Breaking Through Barriers: Elevating the Voices of Young People, an online event highlighting the talents and stories of systems-impacted youth. Through a youth-centered lens, attendees enjoyed performances from young artists, a special guest appearance and meaningful conversations regarding the experiences of foster youth and justice-involved youth. This event was specifically tailored for young leaders and adults with an interest in learning more about justice-impacted and foster youth and served as a space to celebrate the strengths of our young people!

 

____________________________

The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, provides learning opportunities for policy leaders, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels. AYPF events and publications are made possible by contributions from philanthropic foundations. For a complete list, click here.