NYC Youth Agenda
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Latest NYC Youth Agenda News
On December 7, 2023 the NYC Youth Agenda Steering Committee—YVote, CUNY’s Intergenerational Change Initiative, Citizens’ Committee for Children, My Brother’s & Sister’s Keepers, and ONS Youth Leadership Council—held a Winter DataLand event to bring together youth from across the city and engage with data gleaned from the 2023 Youth Ask Youth Census survey.
At this event, 200+ teens and adult supporters participated in interactive games and activities, including “The Data is Right” to “Family Feud” to a “Privilege Walk,” bringing the survey data and experiences of NYC youth to life. Participants were also asked to identify key policy areas and recommendations they want included in the upcoming 2024 NYC Youth Agenda. Read more about the event and its implications in this piece from Patricia Kerrigan, BA in Youth Studies student at CUNY.
History of the NYC Youth Agenda
In 2021, youth advocates from the Citizens’ Committee for Children (CCC), CUNY’s Intergenerational Change Initiative (ICI), YVote, and DYCD’s We the Youth Advisory Council compiled data from ICI’s Youth Ask Youth Census 2021 reports, ICI & We The Youth’s initial NYC Youth Agenda, and CCC’s Voicing Our Future: Youth Priorities for 2021, which surveyed thousands of youth about their concerns and priorities for new elected officials.
This led to the creation of an NYC Youth Agenda Steering Committee to synthesize and distill core recommendations and sub recommendations, which they compiled into the 2022 NYC Youth Agenda. In February 2022, youth leaders put together a powerful NYC Youth Agenda Policy Breakfast, Press Conference, and Youth Rally to amplify the recommendations made in the Youth Agenda.
Throughout the spring of 2022, youth leaders from the Steering Committee organizations continued to meet with elected officials to advance the agenda and discuss how they plan to support the recommendations.
We invite you to view photos from these follow-up meetings below.
Chancellor David C. Banks discusses policy recommendations with youth leaders.
NYC Youth Agenda Steering Committee
The work of the NYC Youth Agenda Steering Committee continues to both develop the 2023 Youth Agenda and establish more equitable systems for youth in NYC in other ways. The Committee is divided into four working groups:
The Civic Engagement & Participation Coalition, which works with youth groups across the city to build solidarity and further strengthen the NYC Youth Agenda
NYC Community Boards, which designs and facilitates youth-led workshops for Community Board Members on creating intergenerational alliances and putting youth at the center
State of the Youth, which is focused on developing an Accountable to YOUth report
Youth Civic Hub, which is conceptualizing and operationalizing a youth civic hub to map civic opportunities across the city to make them more accessible and engaging to youth, families, and schools.
Past NYC Youth Agendas & Events
Over the past year, the Youth Agenda Steering Committee held events for youth leaders and adult allies to come together around the 2022 Youth Agenda recommendations and ideate towards a 2023 Youth Agenda. Check out the video and photos below from ICI’s Winter Dataland, unpacking this year’s Youth Ask Youth census data, and New Year, New You, New Youth Agenda, which combined self care and community care.
Unpacking Youth Ask Youth Census data 
Playing games to dive deeper into the data around youth issues 
Fun times at Winter Dataland in December! 
Reflecting on new policy recommendation ideas 
Activities to learn more about the Youth Ask Youth census data 
Starting off the event with meditation and movement therapy! 
Combining self-care and community care at the New Year, New You, New Youth Agenda event! 
Taking a look at the 5 policy recommendation areas of the Youth Agenda
The NYC Youth Agenda Steering Committee hosted its second annual Policy Breakfast in February 2023. Youth leaders from the convening organizations reported on the progress (and sometimes lack thereof) around last year’s recommendations through the Accountable to YOUth report. They also unveiled this year’s recommendations around five focus areas: economic mobility, environmental justice, educational equity, mental health, and housing security.
At the Policy Breakfast, we heard public statements of accountability from multiple elected officials across NYC’s boroughs and representatives from city government offices critical to advancing this work. Watch this extensive video of the event to see statements from Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, and City Council Members Chi Osse and Althea Stevens.
Steering Committee youth are already planning next steps to ensure the recommendations in this agenda become reality and not just rhetoric. We look forward to collaborating with these officials, and to holding them—and ourselves—accountable as we work together to make progress towards a more equitable and just NYC.
Learn more about this work and hear directly from Steering Committee youth in this recent interview with PBS MetroFocus.
Questions? Contact Sanda Balaban at [email protected]
