Social Networks and Civic Engagement for Young People

Lance Bennet and his team at the University of Washington have launched the Puget Sound Off in Seattle in partnership with the City of Seattle, YMCA, .  (Full disclosure, I am an adviser on the project.)

Lance and his team want to leverage the natural interest that young people have in connecting through online social networks with the need that the rest of us have for young people to become engaged in their communities, develop a collective voice for action and advocacy.  The effort serves teens 13-18 years old and teaches them how to use social media tools like blogging and polling, and just plain social skills like facilitation in the process of identifying issues and organizing around them.

I’m looking forward to watching this project unfold and learning from it.

About these ads