Dear A. Mario Loiederman Middle School PTSA,
Please share the following unusual opportunity with 8th-12th graders you know in the Washington DC area.
Teachers or administrators interested in having 6-10 students from their school take part in Youth Summit should schedule a Zoom meeting with me asap using my
Calendly to
discuss details.
DC Area 8th-12th Graders: Be One of up to 150 Students Taking Part in the Youth Summit on Youth Policymaking
Learning Life, a DC-based nonprofit dedicated to widening participation in democracy and diplomacy, invites up to 150 8th-12th graders in the DMV region to take part in the first Youth Summit on Youth Policymaking (YSYP).
Two Problems
Segregation: The DC area is highly divided, leading to very different social, economic, health outcomes for people depending on where they live. For instance,
average life expectancy varies by as many 27 years in different DMV neighborhoods. These divides in our community extend to our kids, who may live walking distance apart, yet may never meet. They live in very different neighborhoods, go to very different
schools, leading to very different jobs, ways of life, and life trajectories.
Disconnection: In schools, too often academic work is disconnected from the real world of work. Children do assignments, but those assignments are usually academic exercises that move students up to the next ability grade, without connecting them meaningfully
to the adults and institutions that shape their world. Further, many youth, but especially those from lower-income families and neighborhoods, get little if any civic education that connects them to people and policies in power.
Tackling the Problems
YSYP tackles segregation and disconnection by (1) connecting DMV youth who would otherwise likely never meet, let alone collaborate, and (2) engaging them in policy learning and deliberation directed at bridging the gap between education and power/policymaking.
Specifically, on Saturdays, September 27 and October 4 this year, YSYP will bringing together up to 150 8th-12th graders from diverse DMV public, private and charter schools online then in-person to learn, deliberate and propose policies for engaging DMV youth
in policymaking that affects them at school, city, county and/or state government levels.
Preceding the Summit, eligible students will learn about each other and the Summit, plus meet professionals in and out of government with experience in policymaking via a YSYP community on LinkedIn.
Proceeding the Summit, motivated participants will be able to discuss the YSYP-proposed policies with public officials and civic associations, continue learning and connecting with each other and policy professionals, and advise the next YSYP student cohort
in 2026, with an eye to cultivating a new generation of engaged citizens in the DC region, and ensuring diverse DMV youth are systematically considered and included in government.
Students: Be One of the 150
RSVP
for YSYP now
if you (a) live within one hour's drive of Washington DC, (b) will be in 8th-12th grade this fall, and (c) would like to take part in the Youth Summit on Saturdays, September 27 and October 4.
Paul Lachelier, Ph.D.
Founder & Director, Learning Life
Learning
Life is a Washington DC-based nonprofit devoted to developing inclusive learning communities
in order to widen participation in democracy and diplomacy for our
interconnected yet divided world. Learn more about our programs: the
DMV
Democracy Learning Community,
Family Diplomacy Initiative, and
Citizen
Diplomacy International.
Ways you can follow, join, or support Learning Life's work:
1) Like/follow Learning Life on
Facebook,
Linkedin,
and
Instagram.
2) Join our Family Diplomacy Initiative on
Facebook to
learn about family life worldwide.
3) Subscribe to our monthly email
DMV
Democracy Dispatch,
Family
Diplomacy Dispatch, or our quarterly
Citizen
Diplomacy Bulletin.
4) Become a member of our
Democracy
& Diplomacy Community to
network, share, learn and support democracy and diplomacy.
5)
Donate $100,
$250, $500 or what you can to support our work.
6) Sponsor a
family
diplomat,
citizen
diplomacy, or the Washington DC region's
Democracy
Learning Community.
