Empowering California’s youth
Over the past year, commissioners have begun to set a strong foundation for their efforts and will soon be well-positioned to enter a second phase of work – one focused on engaging California youth directly in order to inform the commission’s policy agenda
In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the California Youth Empowerment Act into law and established the Youth Empowerment Commission. In 2024, the Commission began meeting to chart its priorities and kickstart its strategic planning process. As part of this process, the UC Berkeley Possibility Lab partnered with the YEC to provide technical assistance, policy trainings, and research support.
Over the past year, commissioners have begun to set a strong foundation for their efforts and will soon be well-positioned to enter a second phase of work – one focused on engaging California youth directly in order to inform the commission’s policy agenda. Building on this partnership, the Possibility Lab is supporting the following projects to advance the commission’s work and impact:
A targeted survey of California youth leaders from a variety of city and county governments that have well-established iterations of youth commissions and councils to generate additional data to inform policy priorities and support future advocacy efforts. Young leaders serving on local youth boards have immense knowledge about the unique challenges their peer groups face. The Commission would benefit from better understanding the priorities and experiences of these local leaders and constituents, and aligning their work in service of statewide youth trends.
A digital Youth Summit, bringing together youth commissions from across the state to build effective capacity together, and engage in a democracy exercise at the leading-edge of innovations in technology, connectivity, and communication. Traditional forms of engagement such as surveys and polls, while effective, may not reach all targeted audiences and are not designed to engage residents in on-going and iterative conversation with one another.
Over the past year, commissioners have begun to set a strong foundation for their efforts and will soon be well-positioned to enter a second phase of work – one focused on engaging California youth directly in order to inform the commission’s policy agenda. Building on this partnership, the Possibility Lab is supporting the following projects to advance the commission’s work and impact:
A targeted survey of California youth leaders from a variety of city and county governments that have well-established iterations of youth commissions and councils to generate additional data to inform policy priorities and support future advocacy efforts. Young leaders serving on local youth boards have immense knowledge about the unique challenges their peer groups face. The Commission would benefit from better understanding the priorities and experiences of these local leaders and constituents, and aligning their work in service of statewide youth trends.
A digital Youth Summit, bringing together youth commissions from across the state to build effective capacity together, and engage in a democracy exercise at the leading-edge of innovations in technology, connectivity, and communication. Traditional forms of engagement such as surveys and polls, while effective, may not reach all targeted audiences and are not designed to engage residents in on-going and iterative conversation with one another.
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