This summer, the Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF) hosted the OYF Summer Youth Policy Summit 2024 at the Austin Community College (ACC), Texas. This first-ever cross-state youth coalescing policy summit brought together young leaders from across the Texas Opportunity Youth Network (TOYN) and the California Opportunity Youth Network (COYN) – bringing to life the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions’ core value of collaboration and creative action. Young leaders from TOYN and COYN brought their expertise to the table and shared their experiences, insights, and strategies for influencing and creating positive change for national and state-level youth policies. 

The Power of Youth Voice

The summit kicked off with a powerful presentation by the Texas Emerging Leaders Board (TELB), highlighting the importance of considering youth as partners and empowering them to share their lived-experiences. This includes creating dialogue exchanges where young people can share key factors they believe are most critical to their ability to thrive. They also highlighted the importance of creating spaces where they can hear from others who have navigated similar challenges and circumstances, and yet have been able to successfully pursue their dreams and passions – serving as role models with practical success stories. The panel discussion that followed featured young leaders from both COYN and TOYN, who shared their perspectives on youth organizing for civic engagement and policy-making opportunities. After a series of collaborative roundtable discussions, the following were identified as “Policy Priorities” that young leaders from both states defined as most important for collective action:

• Work-Based Opportunities (Ex. Paid Learning) 
• Accessibility to Work-Based Opportunities (Ex. Transportation and Mobility)
• Mentorship and Career Counseling including Academic Counseling
• Centering Mental-Health and Wellbeing
• Digital Equity and Technology Accessibility
• Interdisciplinary Careers and Workforce Development
• Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
• Childcare Subsidies and Support Services
• Universal Income and Housing for All

“Youth voice is important because when youth have the opportunity to empower their innovative and creative ideas, they can be a part of their community’s change.” – Eugene Appiah, Texas Emerging Leaders Board

In closing, the summit featured a presentation and discussion on the new Bipartisan Opportunity Youth Caucus (BOYC) and its potential to drive significant change through strategic policies and funding for youth and young adults. The desired aspiration of bringing this group of inspirational young leaders together in tandem with our collective advocacy is to turn the above youth-informed policy priorities into impactful actions that effect positive change. 

Key Takeaways

The event was a powerful reminder of the importance of listening to and amplifying the voices of young people in policy-making and speaking truth to power with the motto of,  ‘Nothing About Us, Without Us’. Young leaders shared their stories and experiences, highlighting the need for policymakers to listen and learn from them. The event also emphasized the importance of building relationships and alliances between young people, policymakers, and community leaders and moving from dialogue to action when it comes to shaping policies that directly benefit and impact young people. By centering and prioritizing youth voice and experience, we can create a more just and equitable society that benefits all, especially our youth and young adults, and communities of color. The Opportunity Youth Forum looks forward to continuing to create and hold such spaces that bring together more youth-led networks to cultivate authentic youth leadership, alliances and powerful youth-led moments like these that shape and catalyze the opportunity youth movement nationally and globally for our collective futures.

“You cannot change systems without relationships and conversations – Russell Lowery-Hart, ACC Chancellor