2017 – 2018 NAKASEC YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT

Empower. Educate. Lead.

                                                                                    

 The purpose behind our Youth Empowerment Project is to prepare our youth to take progressive action and become leading members of our community. Our younger generation plays an important role in creating a just society and crafting what we believe to be a better world to live in. We believe by investing in our youths, we can collectively become engaged  in a positive movement for change.

Our Youth Empowerment Project is the newly launched year-round program for young leaders in the Northern Virginia region. Our recent July 2017 Summer Retreat: Change Begins with YOUth was our first large base building initiative to recruit leaders from our community. Our primary objective was not only to understand, but to feel what it meant to be a part of a vulnerable community. Now, we are taking steps to show why we are mobilizing to protect our neighbors and take action by getting involved with NAKASEC VA.

EMPOWER

Nothing is more important than feeling like you can make a difference. One of the most important aspects of our program is empowering our youth. Each and every individual’s voice matters. We want to make sure our youths feel empowered and equipped with the skills to lead a movement and make an impact. Through our Youth Empowerment Project, young leaders will be a part of key decision-making processes, participate in direct action, and plan strategic meetings to help our community move forward.

EDUCATE

To build a strong foundation of knowledge in the work that youth lead, we will learn about our history and the issues impacting our communities today. We will educate  through workshops about social issues, direct engagement such as partaking in conversations while tabling with voter education materials, and campaign planning to take action and advocate for issues that affect us. We may also have the opportunity to learn different ways to organize through our affiliates located in LA and Chicago.

LEAD

We want to begin our program by reflecting on self and building on purpose-centered leadership. Our role as organizers will be to challenge our youths to critically think beyond the numbers and aim to look at the bigger picture.  We will use the Golden Circle Model, developed by Simon Sinek, to build our foundation. In any given project or movement, we will always begin with why we are doing it (value), how we will approach it (mission), what we will do to successfully achieve our why (strategy/tactic).

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT OUR YOUTH PROGRAMS:
  • Lead a Workshop: Feel like there is an important social issue our community needs to learn about? Lead a workshop to educate our NAKASEC VA’s Youths!
  • Volunteer: Coordinate a civic engagement program for our youths to become directly involved in local and state politics.
  • Donate: Follow the link (bit.ly/donate2nakasec) to contribute to our youth building efforts. ** Make sure to write Youth in the contribution note!**

To join the Youth Empowerment Project, please contact Joshua Nam (jnam@nakasec.org). Feel free to call us at (703)256-2208 with any additional questions.