Youth Mainstreaming: A Role in Politics

Youth Mainstreaming: A Role in Politics

Peyton Fern - YMCA Arlington - Washington-Lee

“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth” (Diogenes, 412-323 BC).

According to the Freechild Institute, Youth Mainstreaming, a term used by the nonprofit organization focused on creating connections between adults and young people, is “deliberately creating places and positioning young people throughout society in order to foster full, regular, and normalized youth everywhere, all of the time.” The voices of youth are beneficial in almost any environment, bringing new and powerful opinions to adult leaders and operations of schools, companies, businesses, and more.

 Youths can be seen everywhere, particularly in Virginia with the YMCA Model General Assembly Program (MGA). MGA helps teach students about the legislative process in their state. This helps them get own their voice in state-level politics, and they can provide their own opinions. In an interview with Holly Saunders and Olivia Cochran from Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia, the two both said their opinion on how “Democracy only works if everyone participates...you need to get students involved at an early age.”

         Sending the message out to kids who want to get involved in their communities, not just politics, is equally as important. Cochran states that being a teacher of government, “there is only so much we can do for the uninterested party in the classroom” and Saunders has already “seen growth in just one day of MGA in dozens of students. You will be changed forever, and for the better.” Youth mainstreaming can become such a major tool in helping youths not only find their interests, but their futures in society and MGA can help find those futures in politics for the youth in Virginia.

References

Fletcher, Adam. “Youth Mainstreaming.” Freechild Institute, 22 Feb. 2016, freechild.org/youth-mainstreaming/.