The Freechild Institute for Youth Engagement is a nonprofit organization focused on creating connections between adults and young people through programs, technical assistance, publications, training, and curriculum.
Adam Fletcher is the executive director, and the institute is located in
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...
.
[Mullahey, R. (2007]
"The FreeChild Project: Youth-led Social Change"
American Planning Association
The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...
. Retrieved 17 June 2008. The ''
School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...
'' has said Freechild's website is, "By far the largest repository of projects, ideas, and organizational links, this resource provides more than adequate information to help students brainstorm ideas in order to start their own initiatives."
History
Fletcher started the organization as "The Freechild Project" in 2001. The organization changed its name to Freechild Institute for Youth Engagement in January 2018.
Activities
The mission of Freechild is "to advocate, inform, and celebrate social change led by and with young people around the world, particularly those who have been historically denied the right to participate. They provide examples and resources to youth and their adult allies." The group advocates "radical democracy."
Freechild believes it is completely unethical to exclude young people from
participating in the actions that affect them most. Their programs include
service-learning
Service-learning is an educational approach that uses community service to meet both classroom learning objectives and societal needs. It has been used with students of all grades and stages. Projects based in communities are designed to apply cla ...
, topic-specific workshops and
activist group incubation. The group consults with local and national nonprofit groups in strategic planning, capacity building and product development with
youth empowerment at the center of their priorities. They also perform networking services through conferences and online communications.
The organization is coordinated by one full-time staff member, offers activities through a network of trainers, and is advised by youth and adult experts from across the US. The website SoundOut.org is one of their projects. The director of Freechild also talks with the media about youth.
[James, Geofferey]
"The Teen Ticket: Are Teenagers Old Enough to Vote?"
Edutopia. Retrieved 17 July 2008.
See also
*
National Youth Rights Association
*
Youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...
*
Youth suffrage
Youth suffrage is the right to vote for young people. It forms part of the broader universal suffrage and youth rights movements. Most democracies have lowered the voting age to between 16 and 18, while some advocates for children's suffrage ho ...
*
Youth rights
The youth rights movement (also known as youth liberation) seeks to grant the rights to Youth, young people that are traditionally reserved for adults. This is closely akin to the notion of evolving capacities within the children's rights mov ...
*
Age of candidacy
Age of candidacy is the minimum age at which a person can legally hold certain elected government offices. In many cases, it also determines the age at which a person may be eligible to stand for an election or be granted ballot access.
Inter ...
References
External links
* {{official website, http://www.freechild.org/
2001 establishments in the United States
Youth empowerment organizations
Youth organizations based in Washington (state)
Ageism
Organizations established in 2001