Consultant Corner: The Powerful Force of Youth Civic Engagement

Frank Mirabal is the Founder and President of Contigo Research, Policy & Strategy, a national consulting firm that focuses on issues impacting the Latino community.

One thing we learned through the 2008 Obama campaign was the importance of youth engagement.  The mobilization of our nation's youth through advocacy groups like MoveOn, through social utilities like Facebook and through serious grassroots campaigns engaged young people in the civic process like never before. Youth voice is critical in any democracy because it provides a Socratic questioning of our nation's policies and provides a necessary idealism that counters adult bar
rier-driven thought.  In other words, youth voice has a specific resonance that cannot be reproduced by adults (because we have been somewhat jaded through our encounters). 

Nationally, youth have played a critical advocacy role in immigration reform and the Dream Act. In 2006, young people turned out in record numbers in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York to voice their concerns over immigration and the unfair treatment of immigrants. In 2007, over 300 youth from 15 states advocated for the Dream Act on Capital Hill.  Grassroots campaigns for the Dream Act also turned out significant numbers of youth.  Although immigration reform and the Dream Act did not pass, the sheer volume of youth turnout at rallies nationwide signaled a shift in youth civic engagement.   

Locally, youth in my home state of New Mexico have mobilized for; the protection of water rights on tribal lands; comprehensive sex education in our public schools; the expansion of School Based Health Centers; and for increased appropriations for engaging after-school programs.  Through effective mobilization, youth in New Mexico have been a major force in the passing of the Next Generation Act--a 2 million endowment that funds positive youth development programming; the expansion of School Based Health Centers (SBHCs)--the number of SBHCs in New Mexico doubled in 2006; and the Youth Alliance Act--which promotes youth voice and requires by state statute that the Lt. Governor and Governor meet with youth-led advocacy groups at-least once per year to hear their policy agenda.

Young people are often criticized for their need for immediate gratification--whether it be through material possessions or an insatiable need to be entertained.  Some of the criticisms are justified (our nation's young people have one of the highest obesity rates in the world).  However, young people are awakening from their civic slumber (as evidenced by the Obama campaign). In fact, youth volunteerism is growing at a much faster rate than any other segment of our national population.  Youth voice is necessary to balance our democratic process.  It is also a critical component--although often overlooked-- to any community-building, policy and advocacy strategy.  

The revolution will not be televised.......It will be You Tubed, Facebooked, mass emailed and text messaged.  And guess who will be leading the charge?