Citywide Youth Engagement

Citywide Youth Engagement. Understanding adultism and youth allyship. Oakland Youth Commission 2022

The OYC is working to train adult employees at the City of Oakland on how to engage and empower youth in various capacities and roles within the city. On November 30th, Youth Commissioners and Staff led over 50 City of Oakland employees in a training on Adultism, Youth Empowerment and Allyship in an effort to increase youth engagement across all city departments. If you would like to learn more about this training, feel free to contact us at youthcommission@oaklandca.gov.

Youth Empowerment. Youth gaining the ability, agency, and decision making skills to implement change in their own lives and the lives of others. Youth empowerment is not treating youth like adults of giving them responsibilities that aren't appropriate. Youth have the right to be young, and still have power and agency. The fundamental goal of OYC is to ensuring Oakland Youth have a voice in City government, The reason that youth have had out power taken away from us is because of adultism.

Adultism. Behaviors attitudes, laws, and practices based on the assumption that adults are better than young people and entitled to act upon them without their agreement. This mistreatment is reinforced by individuals (such as parents, teachers), as well as institutions (such as education, legal, media, and economic systems).

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