Building off our YVote Summer ChangeMaker Institutes, we’re excited that we’ll be running two complementary bi-weekly cohorts this school year, running on Tuesdays from 5:00-7:00 PM on Zoom, complemented by periodic in person actions and gatherings–like our fantastic holiday gathering on Nov 22. Check out the photos here
Cohort A: Political Education and Advocacy
| Date | Theme(s) | Key Goals |
| Sept 21 | Introductions, Campaign Case Study, and Community Building | Build connections between YVoters, understand purpose and application of the Political Education and Advocacy track. Check out the session here. |
| Oct 19 | Understanding Power and Our Role Within Movements | Reflect on personal strengths and areas of growth, understanding power and how we can build it, talk about November 2021 local elections and make sure folks have a voting plan–and are equipped to influence peers and family members to vote Check out the session here. |
| Nov 16 | Navigating Our (New!) Local Government | Understand political landscape in NYC and issues that are at stake; familiarize with local coalitions and their campaigns; hear from guest speaker on their coalition structure and what new City government means for their coalition’s campaigns Check out the session here. |
| Dec 14 | Navigating Our (New!) State Government | Understand political landscape in Albany and issues that are at stake; learn when and how the state budget and other laws pass in Albany; research your state elected officials Check out the session here. |
| Jan 18 | Building a People’s Budget | Understand how local and state budgets are moral documents; learn what’s in current state budget proposal and what it means for young people; write an email to your elected official about your budget priorities in the state budget cycle Check out the session here. |
| Feb 15 | It’s My Money and I Want It NOW | Use personal experience and storytelling in your communication tools about an issue; conduct surveys and polls to collect data; analyze data relevant to an issue and/or policy recommendation; be a speaker at public event / community forum Check out the session here |
| Mar 15 | Testify! How to Speak with Elected Officials | Identify different strategies for engaging with elected officials (social media, phone calls, in meetings, at events); practice elevator pitch for issues impacting your community Check out the session here |
| April 26 | Campaign Strategy 101: Building Campaigns that Win with Council Member Shahana Hanif | At this workshop, YVoters came to: * Understand the distinction between strategy and tactics * Map your community assets and identify potential allies * Engage and ask good questions of politicians and/or civic leaders Check out the session here |
| May 24 | Wait, there’s an election?!? | YVoters gather to: *Assess a political candidate’s platform and how they are aligned to issues in The Youth Agenda * Educate a group of peers on the importance of voting (in advance of state primary election) * Share information about how to vote Check out the session here |
| June 14 | TBD |
Cohort B: Youth Organizing and Activism
| Date | Themes | Key Goals |
| Oct 5 | The Future is Now: youth power and movement building | Begin community building, identify personal values and goals, develop a shared understanding of youth organizing and activism. Check out the session here. |
| Nov 2 | Community Organizing 101: Developing A Path Towards Anti-Oppression and Intersectionality | To begin understanding how their personal identities tie into broader social justice issues. Explore the legacies of oppression through an intersectional lens and unpack how they shape our current movements. Check out the session here. |
| Dec 7 | Community Organizing 101: Power Analysis and Campaign Development | Develop an understanding of community organizing, discuss the power and power dynamics, explore campaign development. Check out the session here. |
| Jan 11 | Direct Action 101 | Introduction to pulling off direct actions, explores what makes an action effective, how to work as a group in a direct action. Check out the session here. |
| Feb 8 | Story-telling for the Movement | Understand the role of messaging and communications within social justice, explore different tools, practice messaging and story-telling tools Check out the session here |
| March 1 | Issue Area development | (this will be a hybrid of the action group model we used during the summer) Yvote action groups will begin putting their organizing skills and knowledge into action. Each YVote action group will be paired with an external youth-led social justice group to discuss demands and strategies for activism during the upcoming NYC budget fight. Check out the session here |
| April 5 | New York City Future Historians | YVoters took a field trip with the Future Historians of the New York Historical Society to connect historical contexts to contemporary issues Check out photos here |
| May 10 | All About the Actions | YVoters: *Strategized about how to take action by creating narratives for issue campaigns *Developed a plan to bring attention to a particular issue Check out the session here |
| June 7 | Community Organizing & Sustainability | To close out, we will reflect on the year while also discussing ways that young people can prioritize their self-care and mental health while organizing. Check out the session here |