youthrive’s ProgramsTable of Contents
PeaceJam
youthrive is the Upper Midwest Affiliate for PeaceJam International. The PeaceJam headquarters is in Denver, Colorado. youthrive provides PeaceJam programming and events in the following states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.
PeaceJam consists of a curriculum that can be used with any youth group in school and out of school. The curriculum introduces young people to 12 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. PeaceJam Juniors program is designed for youth ages 5-11, PeaceJam Leaders is for ages 11-14, PeaceJam Ambassadors is for ages 14-19 and PeaceJam Scholars is intended for the college age. High school students have the opportunity to participate in two yearly events; PeaceJam and PeaceJam Slam. A world summit is held every two years.
PeaceJam Slam is a one day leadership event that serves as an opportunity to prepare for PeaceJam event. Participants attend workshops and network with students from all over the five state area.
PeaceJam event is held in the spring and is two days long. At the event, youth participants have the opportunity to spend the weekend interacting with a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Students present to the Laureate the service-learning projects that they created and implemented in their communities. The Global Call to Action is the focus of the event.
Circle of Youth Engagement
The Circle of Youth Engagement is an interactive, participatory, training, curriculum, training and process that was brainstormed, developed and created together with the young leaders of youthrive, Unlike traditional training, the Circle program will go on to transform the youth serving organization(s) by enlisting young people to participate in meaningful and genuine leadership roles working in partnership with the adults in the Circle program. The program strives to support young people through leadership and service-learning opportunities as facilitators with adult partners. This 10- 16 hour Circle of Youth Engagement experience is designed by youth and adults at youthrive, a local non profit organization in Minnesota.
youthrive Vision
The vision of youthrive is peaceful and just communities where young people are recognized and valued. The mission of youthrive is to engage young people with adults in strengthening leadership and peace-building skills.
Over the years, people would ask Donna Gillen (Executive Director- youthrive), “How do you do it? How do you get youth involved in your programs, actually, how do you keep them involved as leaders?” Donna decided to answer the question, share her best insights and wisdom gained from youth, and tried and true experience of how to do work with youth. She co-authored a book with some of her colleagues, Giving Voice to the Leader Within, Donna Gillen, Marlys C. Johnson, and Jackie S. Sinykin. Young people working closely with the authors, considered support, opportunities, space and resources to be essential in truly engaging youth in leadership. This book serves as the foundation of the Circle of Youth Engagement training and facilitation.
The reflection framework created with youth we have developed 4 simple rules for authentic youth engagement:
1. Show Up & Pay Attention to What Matters to You
2. Know Yourself and Your Power & Speak Truth Courageously
3. Change Yourself as an Example
4. Lead! Lead! Use Your Passion, Your Power for a Purpose
The Circle of Youth Engagement Training is designed in 3 sessions: Youth Training, Adult Training and a joint Youth / Adult Training. Each training session is designed to provide an opportunity for participants to build on their accumulated knowledge and to form meaningful relationships with each other while breaking down barriers. Each participant learns beneficial communication skills between adults and youth. They also learn about the four core concepts that describe the inner circle, which is includes support, providing opportunities, providing space, providing resources. Each training session is designed to last 4-6 hours depending on the needs of the organization.
For more information about the Circle of Youth Engagement or to schedule training, please call the youthrive office at 651.224.3066
youthrive: LIVE!
youthrive: LIVE! is the production division of youthrive that encompasses all audio and video elements of our programming. We pair young people with adult partners in the development of peace building through the respectful utilization of authentic music and art as a tool for youth engagement. This includes but is not limited to, recorded audio such as CDs and downloadable music, recorded video, live concerts, event planning, professional Event Hosting, Vocal Performers, Dancers, Spoken Word performance poets, and the creation of New Media content. In addition we deploy videographers & photographers to capture and share our message through the visual medium. We aim for exciting presentations while preserving the inherent educational value of art and music.
youthrive: LIVE! began in 2008 as the performance arm of youthrive’s PeaceJam curriculum. The first iteration was intended to be a Hip Hop performance aimed at attracting the attention of young people at Minneapolis North High School and introduce them to the tenets of PeaceJam. We held a school wide assembly and were able to include every student in the building by doing two different sets during lunch period. The first half was 9th & 10th grades and the second was 11th & 12th.
For the purpose of cultivating interest and participation in Community Service to prepare for the arrival of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s May 2008 visit, this first venture was highly effective and received praise from school administrators, students, teachers, and community members alike.
We realized we had only scratched the tip of an iceberg when School administrators called our offices to tell us that for some time following our appearance, there was a noticeable drop in student conflict and an intangible uplift in the spirits of the student body at large. We were told that even though staff couldn’t quite put their fingers on exactly why this was occurring, it was most certainly real.
Although there was some predictable resistance to the idea that a Hip Hop concert could somehow magically produce a sustainable long-term effect on an entire school, we could not deny that we caught a glimpse in to the true potential of what a program like this can achieve with persistent refinement and further development. We are grateful for the continued support we receive from our all of our hosts. Past, present, and future…
Face 2 Face
Face 2 Face’s goal is to provide an opportunity for youth and police to discuss ordinances, culture, and gang awareness. The primary activity will be a youth designed content presentation around the issues which come up in the planning process of the meeting held by and for youth. Police and youth will serve as co-facilitators during the sharing of the content material and will act out role reversal scenarios focused on community issues.
This event serves as an open forum for young people and police to discuss the issues that are affecting the community including cultural differences, gang awareness, immigration, and other issues that develop in the brainstorming activities.
Young people organize this event, with supportive adult and police partners. This team selects the project content, completes media outreach, creates a budget for the project, and carries out fundraising and donation efforts. Students are recruited by other young people, police liaisons in schools, probations officers, social workers, and community members. Youth from the youth-serving organizations in the area will be asked by our youth team to join in the planning and will be recruited to participate in the event. A group of 10-15 youth participate in the planning team and will meet a minimum of eight times prior to the event date.
Through this planning process, authentic relationships are developed between youth and police. All participants, including local police officers, gain understanding and appreciation for diverse perspectives with regard to personal and community law. Through dialogue around issues, police and young people on the opportunity have the opportunity to break down barriers.
During the event planed by the team of youth and police, members of the planning team act out role play scenarios that address community concerns. Youth, police and adult participants participate in round-table discussions focusing on issues facing youth and adults in the community. The event also features food, live music performances, an on-site DJ and prize drawings.
The project is evaluated in two ways; students are first evaluated on the day of the event, as to how they reacted to the planning process and what they gained from the project. Following the event, the planning team evaluates the planning process as well as the effect the event had on the community. This evaluation is documented in a written report as well as via video testimonials and photos.
