The Atlanta Youth Voice Landscape Scan is a two-year project to examine the landscape of youth voice initiatives in Atlanta, GA. Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this project maps the youth voice ecosystem in Atlanta by identifying organizations and initiatives that support youth-engaged projects and programming. Our findings and recommendations will help strengthen and expand youth voice initiatives across Atlanta, its metropolitan area, and Georgia more broadly.
Background
Youth voice initiatives support the active engagement of young people in making decisions that affect their lives and communities. These initiatives engage youth in research, planning, design, facilitation, advocacy, and more, resulting in solutions and strategies that consider youth’s unique perspectives and better address their needs and those of their families and communities.
Youth voice is an umbrella term that encompasses the ways in which youth use their lived experience and perspectives to inform policy and practice. Youth voice initiatives not only empower youth to improve their environments but also support their development. These initiatives are flourishing across the United States, yet few resources provide practical guidance for youth and adults seeking to establish and/or grow their youth voice initiatives.
Atlanta, with its rich history of youth engagement in civic issues dating back to the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, provides a unique context for exploring the present-day opportunities and challenges in supporting youth voice initiatives. However, there is a limited understanding of the current landscape for youth voice in this area. This study focuses on Atlanta because of the city’s rich foundation for this work and because the Annie E. Casey Foundation is looking to expand youth voice initiatives in Atlanta. Based on the solutions outlined in the 2024 Changing the Odds report, the establishment of new—and support of existing—youth initiatives would help improve the well-being of youth and families in Atlanta.
Intended Impacts
Our project seeks to further investigate three key areas:
- The ecosystem of youth, adults, organizations, and communities supporting youth voice, with the goal of developing a comprehensive understanding of those engaged
- Resources, structures, conditions, and environments that support efforts to engage youth in decision-making processes
- Actionable strategies and proven techniques for amplifying youth voice in ways that lead to better youth and community outcomes
Through our investigation, we can better address the needs of key stakeholders and enhance the effectiveness of youth voice initiatives in Atlanta.
Research Approach
This project aims to understand the youth voice ecosystem in Atlanta by identifying and describing youth voice initiatives across the city. To do this, we will interview representatives from youth-serving organizations and young people engaged in youth voice work. By combining findings from adults and youth, the project will explore the landscape of youth voice work, discover local and regional challenges and assets, and identify strategies to better support a robust youth voice ecosystem.
Resources and Learnings
At the end of the project, we will produce a landscape scan brief that covers our findings and offers recommendations for the Atlanta youth voice ecosystem.
Team Members
Supporting team member:
- Education Northwest: Julie Petrokubi