Our innovative YouthBuild Social Justice Program (YouthBuild) is a transformative, 9- week leadership program, designed to equip 11–18 years youth with the tools to tackle racism, and exclusion. YouthBuild is not a traditional diversity program. The curriculum, based on the Southern Poverty Law Center's social justice standards - Identity, Diversity, Justice, and Action - consists of didactic, collaborative, and action-based learning. The program's design focuses on safe spaces where students can honestly engage, deeply reflect, and build leadership skills to combat bias, bullying, micro-aggression, and injustice in their schools and communities. It leverages youth voices not just for personal growth during an important developmental stage, but also as a foundation for understanding their rights and responsibilities, and a catalyst for individual power building and community transformation. Our unique approach combines socio-emotional and leadership development, personal storytelling grounded in lived experiences, power building, and action to produce a new generation of informed civic leaders equipped to build a just, inclusive, compassionate, and safe communities.
