The Power of Young People Creating Systems Change

Generation Citizen opens with a call to reimagine democracy by recognizing youth voice and civic imagination as essential civic infrastructure and makes the case for why expanding youth access to civic opportunities is essential to democracy’s next 250 years. The essays that follow feature personal reflections from young people on the experiences that shaped their civic identities—from advocating for change in their schools to engaging local leaders and organizing in their communities.

Generation Citizen: When did you first begin to see yourself as someone who could influence change in your community?

Sumaiya Alam: My seventh-grade class had been working on a project to improve the food provided by the Department of Education and get halal food into our school. We worked for almost half the school year in our social studies class. I was chosen along with two other classmates to present the project at the New York City Bar Association for Civics Day. There, I saw how attentively community advisors listened and took part in our conversations that we had regarding our school system, which felt incredibly empowering. This whole experience taught me that I can create systemic change when I already have so much support from civic educators and organizations like Generation Citizen. I no longer just talk about the issues in my community, I actually do something about them.

Generation Citizen: How did your experience with Generation Citizen shape your understanding of civic engagement?

Sumaiya Alam: There are so many people my age that have such great ideas, but everyone requires a little courage to actually do anything with them, and that’s what Generation Citizen truly did for me. It sparked in me a more profound way of thinking about society and my role in it. I learned that the government is built from its people and without us engaging in democracy and partaking civically, impact may not be possible.

Generation Citizen: What lessons from that experience still stay with you today?

Sumaiya Alam: One person alone cannot determine the course of our government’s decisions but when people come together to enforce something, it creates more pressure on the people that have a say in anything that we do. I’ve also realized that people who aren’t as engaged in civics, are either people who live in fear, simply don’t care, or aren’t educated enough regarding their role in government. But we can slowly dismantle those specific mindsets. By having youth like me take the first step, and truly see the impact of our work, we can better understand how expressing our ideas can actually make a difference so more of us understand the importance of staying civically engaged.

Generation Citizen: How has your understanding of democracy evolved since high school?

Sumaiya Alam: I thought democracy just meant voting in the general elections. However, after taking part in civic engagement in my community, in many different ways, I realized that democracy goes beyond the voting booth. It is the power of everyone’s voice that can be used to fight against injustice and inequality, because we have the ability to influence the laws and governmental decisions to ensure no one has any right taken from them.

Generation Citizen: What should democracy look and feel like over the next 25, 50 or 250 years?

Sumaiya Alam: Whether it is in 25, 50, or 250 years, people should understand the impact of their voices and the amount of power they have to create change. In the future, I hope that the government and government officials take the opinions of the public into consideration, to create and impose laws, ones which do not oppress people. I also hope that voter registration and civic engagement is much higher among youth who should continuously be educated about their government and their role in it.

Generation Citizen: What gives you hope about the future of civic participation?

Sumaiya Alam: I get hope when I see even a small percentage of my peers discuss the political state of America but also their own countries. Although I do disagree with some opinions, I love that people step out of their comfort zone to discuss their ideas and thoughts which are foreign to my own. To see new perspectives and people not being afraid to be transparent, is what I love most about my own generation. I often see some of my classmates, friends, and colleagues also post about political activism and their views on social media, which I find very brave.

Generation Citizen: What does meaningfully incorporating the youth voice look like in practice?

Sumaiya Alam: Youth should be offered spaces to express their concerns regarding issues in their community, and community leaders should listen to their concerns and propose solutions to the problems. We are the ones who will be impacted by these issues in the future when we hold critical roles in our society as adults. Opportunities to take part in governmental decisions to be found in schools, so students can take what they are educated on in their social studies classes and actually implement what they learned in real time. For example, having students pre-register to vote, partake in participatory budgeting elections, hold debates regarding laws as well as moral and ethical dilemmas, connect with other students to advocate for different agendas, and act upon them using the help of community leaders.

Generation Citizen: What does “civic imagination” mean to you?

“Civic Imagination” to me means using unusual and out-of-the-box tactics to get a response from people and even solve the issue which someone is tackling. I have used my own civic imagination to find ways to attract students at school to get civically engaged. I’ve used the civic imagination of others to connect with community leaders to learn more about their career and look for possible ways they could help with community issues I was working on.