The Endowment for California Leadership in collaboration with Youth and Government of the California YMCA, Junior State of America, and the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project has launched a yearlong youth civic engagement effort dubbed Youth Summit 2010.

The goal of Youth Summit 2010 is two fold: First, empower young people in California to voice their concerns and protect their interests as the state of California rearranges its priorities and makes painful budget cuts. Second, launch a pilot project to develop a sustainable civic access point for young Californians that will enable each generation to develop and utilize civic skills as active citizens.

Youth Summit 2010 consists of five major phases:

1. A poll to be released on January 16, 2010 to identify the issues most on the minds of young Californians as we head into the 2010 state elections.
2. A 3-day Summit in Los Angeles in April 2010 of 250 diverse youth from across the state’s political, racial, and ethnic spectrums to build an integrated and coherent statewide network of youth leaders and to identify key public policy ideas that young Californias wish to advocate.
3. A 5-day Institute to be held in Stanford and Sacramento in the summer of 2010 that will a group of the original 250 Summit participants. At this Institute young people will: attend seminars on local and state politics and identify contemporary policy disputes; develop leadership skills through group project and effective meeting simulations; and, finally acquire issue advocacy and campaign skills. During the summer institute, youth leaders will begin developing a fall campaign that will coincide with the 2010 state elections.
4. The fall 2010 campaign, led by young people, to make their views known to elected public leaders, civic leaders, school administrators, the media, and their peers.
5. A meeting of the key participants at the end of 2010 to review the work done over the year and to lay plans for a continuing, non-partisan voice for California youth.

The online Youth Poll will be open for one month beginning on January 16th. The results of the Youth Poll will determine which issue, policy innovation, or youth message becomes the rallying cry of the fall Youth Summit campaign. Encouraging youth commissioners to respond to and distribute this poll to their peers will ensure that the April Youth Summit agenda will be a legitimate and representative reflection of contemporary youth and their concerns.
To learn more about Youth Summit 2010, please contact Daniil Karp: Work: (415) 442-0608 or karp.daniil@gmail.com.