- The document discusses the Youth Digital Commons project, which aims to empower young people to connect, collaborate, and take action through technology and civic engagement. - It provides an overview of the project goals of the City of Seattle, YMCA, and UW Center for Communication. It then outlines the vision and progression of the project, including focus groups conducted, the PugetSoundOff.org website created, growing content, curriculum developed, and values upheld. - It recaps the Civic Voice Curriculum developed to provide project-based learning exploring community issues using digital media. The impact and opportunities for organizations to get involved are also summarized.

1. EMPOWERING YOUNG
PEOPLE TO CONNECT,
COLLABORATE, & TAKE
ACTION
- David Keyes, City of Seattle
- Chris Tugwell, YMCA of Greater Seattle

2. AGENDA
- Introductions
- Icebreaker
- Project overview
- Group discussion
- Questions
- Evaluation

3. How do youth get heard?

4. GOAL – YOUTH DIGITAL COMMONS
City
• Learn to do effective electronic civic engagement
• Support youth engagement & tech literacy
• Bring government to youth
• Comcast grant negotiated in franchising
YMCA
• Youth empowerment
• Engage in emerging trends
UW Center for Communication
• Civics: Becoming Citizens support
• Civic engagement research

5. VISION & PROGRESSION - TECHNOLOGY
Ten Key
BASIC
SOFTWARE
SKILLS
Digital Arts

6. VISION & PROGRESSION - RESEARCH
• Focus groups with 180 youth
• Research on other models
• Decision to target 13-21
• Summer youth design program
• Drupal platform built
• Lots of dialogue and deliberation!
Related research at Leading to...
-www.engagedyouth.org
-www.ccce.com.washington.edu
-Newer partnership with Microsoft Research

7. VISION & PROGRESSION – PugetSoundOff.org

8. VISION & PROGRESSION – CONTENT GROWS

9. VISION & PROGRESSION – CURRICULUM

10. VISION & PROGRESSION – VALUES
"The mission of Puget SoundOff is to provide youth with a forum for
discussion, artistic expression, and action as a way to empower and
encourage youth to have a strong voice.”
• Let youth drive as much as possible
• Integrate online and offline training
• Needs to fun and connect to causes
• Debate is good
• Has to be multimedia
• Don’t try to compete with Facebook, etc.
• Keep content & conversations public
• Partner with other organizations and schools
• Promote development of speech (incl revised postings)
• Design for diversity of speakers (via partners, tools, training,
design/content promotion)

11. VISION & PROGRESSION – EMPOWERMENT
Connect with community, Connect with gov

12. QUARTER 5
TODAY – CIVIC VOICE CURRICULUM
• 125 participated in digital literacy trainings
(unduplicated)
• 592 participated in digital literacy trainings
(duplicated)
• YTech: total training hours engagement programs
1381 digital inclusion + civic
In • Averaged 173 open lab of other YMCA branches, nonprofit
order to expand and grow capacity
organizations, classroom teachers, we began running programs, fine tuning and
visits/week
packaging our resources and activities into curriculum guides we call Civic Voice
• 111 hours
Curriculum programs. of open lab each
week
YTECH’s Civic Voice Curriculum programs are project-based, service learning guides
that explore community issues.
Young people use digital media to tell stories, share their voice and develop action
projects to spark dialogue and initiate change in their communities.

13. TODAY – CIVIC VOICE CURRICULUM

14. TECH INTEGRATION

19. RECAP – CIVIC VOICE CURRICULUM

20. WHAT’S NEXT – ONLINE IMPROVEMENTS

21. WHAT’S NEXT CURRICULUM

22. Questions & feedback on CVC curriculum?
If progression of outreach and engagement
is:
• Building awareness
• Mobilizing and connecting
• Deliberation and development of solutions
• Action that impacts decision makers & community
• Implementation
• Feedback
How do digital natives make most impact?
How do we best facilitate people & tech?

23. IMPACT
MORE THAN 3300 users on PSO.org
I’m sorry that I put “When communities
my family through come together to fight
seeing me smoke, for a change it is
steal and go to jail. possible to make a
This is why I difference when
wanted to help with multiple people stand
the Night Out, so I up for what is right.”
could show my little
cousin and the -- Marleisha
younger generation
to be good and stay
out of trouble.”
-- Yao
500 young people served as of 3rd Quarter 2012

24. GET INVOLVED | JOIN US
Learn more: Visit youthdigitalmedia.com to preview other guides and watch media created
using out guides
Run a program: Purchase a curriculum guide by contacting Roni Ayalla,
roniayalla@gmail.com Guides are $10 each.
Western Washington & Greater New York City areas:
YTech will potentially run a Civic Voice Curriculum program at your organization or train
your staff on our curriculum model.
Contact:
YMCA | Chris Tugwell | ctugwell@seattleymca.org | 425-445-5860
CITY OF SEATTLE | David Keyes | david.keyes@seattle.gov | 206-386-9759
NYC | Roni Ayalla | roniayalla@gmail.com | 206-250-2456

25. Thank You