Leadership & Advocacy
YOU Be The Change
Youth Arts, Advocacy, and Leadership.
Overview
What it is.
YOU Be The Change empowers students to become confident self-advocates and future leaders by combining arts, media, and civic engagement. Students identify issues that matter in their schools or communities, and work to develop creative campaigns that promote awareness, action, and change through measurable impact.
Through hands-on project-based learning, students take on real roles (researchers, designers, writers, presenters, and documentarians) to create measurable impact while developing critical 21st-century skills. Each cohort concludes with a student-led presentation, public showcase, and a published Changemakers Yearbook documenting their work.
YOU Be The Change turns student creativity into civic action helping schools nurture leaders who don't just imagine a better world. They build it.
Who it is for
Students who want a say in what happens where they live, and schools or cities looking for genuine youth input.
Student learning
- Advocacy, civic engagement, and leadership skills
- Campaign design and storytelling
- Research and community engagement
- Media production and presentation
Real-world application
Prepares students for leadership roles in community organizing, media, policy, and social entrepreneurship, turning creativity into action.
Student outcomes
What a student leaves with.
- Increased confidence as leaders and advocates
- Strong communication and critical thinking skills
- Real-world impact through student-led initiatives
- Published work and public presentations
Delivery
How it runs.
Creative Pathways
Related stories
Where this has run.
More programs
Other signature programs.
Bring this program to your students
Bring YOU Be The Change to your school or community.
Schools, libraries, community organizations, and public spaces all work. The design changes; the outcomes do not.