YOUTH BASED POLICY

World leaders, national candidates, and municipal coordinators alike consistently reaffirm their commitment to involving the youth. Actions speak louder than words, and we're working to ensure these promises and words are brought to fruition by acting to bring forward legislation which supports youth development.

It’s odd to be an observer; a silent member of society. Sitting on the fringes of a meeting, desperate to have your say and participate, but constantly being looked over and disregarded. The Centre is committed to diminishing these rudimentary principles – notions which look unfavourably to youth actually participating in society – by actively changing the laws which govern nations worldwide to boost positive youth development.

A primary focus of the Centre is drafting, creating, and pushing for the implementation of non-partisan policy which sustains youth development. Voting legislation is the base for future youth participation, and the Centre has made meaningful strides worldwide to work with and for the youth.

WE'RE THE FIRST GROUP OF HIGH SCHOOLERS TO SINGLE-HANDEDLY CHAMPION LEGISLATION IN U.S. CONGRESS.

The High School Voter Empowerment Act

READ THE BILL

designates secondary schools throughout the United States as voter registration agencies under U.S. Code § 20506, allowing students to engage with the civic process at early ages. The bill sets the foundation for proper, equal, non-partisan voter registration.

“If there isn’t a seat at the table, build one. If there isn’t room, make some. Only when you resist will you truly rise.”

The Centre is proud to have championed the Act in Congress. For far too long, the youth of America have been stunted from expressing their rights to participate in the public affairs processes.

We became the first high school students in the nation to create federal legislation ourselves. We built ourselves from the ground up, by finding resources online, cold-calling and emailing officials from the White House to Capitol Hill, until we built a strong coalition of other groups, lawmakers, and changemakers.

Youth in the United States lack fundamental skills to make change in the world.

Two-thirds of U.S. high school students have been encouraged to vote, and only 50% have learned how to register.

Students who had not received encouragement to vote from teachers in high school were more than twice as likely to agree with the statement “Voting is a waste of time” as those who had been encouraged: 26% vs. 12%. Therefore, it's necessary to begin the voting encouragement process early.

We were never invited to the table, and always felt excluded. Rather than let the processes continue, we decided to make the change ourselves.

The bill proposes public high schools to be designated as voter registration agencies, and that students who are enrolled in an American government or economics course, and are 17+ as of 1 April to receive education in getting registered to vote. This material costs minimum amounts of funding to implement; the vast majority can be done online.

The bill also establishes a programme under the Department of Education to allow students to vote at their own school. This greatly increases accessibility to those who live in rural areas, or are economically disadvantaged.

WHO WE'VE CRAFTED
POLICY WITH

OUR THREE-PRONGED APPROACH

RESEARCHING & TARGETING ADVOCACY EFFORTS

Our work is made possible through extensive efforts to research & identify specific groups of lawmakers, from understanding their positions on policy to studying their voting history. Research allows our organisation to determine where we should target our efforts, be it through grassroots outreach or in-person meetings, to better achieve a world built on voices of youth.

FACILITATING MEETINGS WITH POLICYMAKERS

Conducting dialogue takes a lot of work. From continuously sending emails and making phone calls to coordinate with policymakers and their respective staffs, our team strives in reaching as many persons as possible to achieve our common goal. Our research from phase one allows these meetings to be better suited to the needs of our organisation.

CROSS-COLLABORATING TO ACHIEVE A COMMON GOAL

Our work does not end after series of meetings and research; we recognise that the pursuit of youth empowerment is only made possible through advocacy which is continuous. Our team works together to ensure follow ups are made, and with other youth leaders and policymaker's' offices as well, guaranteeing a multitude of efforts being continued. We won't give up.

You can do it with your organisation, too. We're empowering changemakers worldwide to take action themselves through our three-pronged approach to champion youth-centred legislation.

Our consulting services offer a chance for changemakers to receive the support of the Centre in introducing their own legislation, allowing change to expand beyond our own work.

CVIA's vision seeks a world where youth of different economic, social, cultural and political backgrounds are represented; this is made possible by introducing multitudes of legislation and holding conversations on a variety of issues. Explore the capabilities of your group with us, through our client services today.

If you’d like more information about our features, get in touch today.