WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A YOUTH ORGANIZER?

Youth Organizers (YOs) commit to working on a collaborative statewide campaign throughout the school year. Every two years youth organizers decide on what campaign to run, and this summer the teens will get to decide the next issue to get behind.  Throughout the school year you will attend regular conference calls, participate in skill trainings, and lead campaign actions in your community! YOs are the main point of contact for AYEA’s statewide campaign in their community. Read more below:

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Attend the Youth Organizer Summit

• You must attend the 4 day summit August 31- September 3
• Build your knowledge of climate change
• Develop a strategic powerful youth-led campaign plan to reach the campaign goal
• Develop skills in a variety of campaign tactics

Lead campaign actions each month

• Monthly conference calls to report on last month’s action and prepare for next month’s action
• What actions we do will be decided at the Summit. Examples include: presenting to your school, traveling to present at conferences, asking people to sign a petition, recruiting volunteers, letters to the editor, phone calls and letters to politicians, Facebook posts, press conferences, rallies, etc)
• Each YO will have specific objectives to meet monthly (collect X petitions, recruit X teens)

Support each other

• Communicate regularly with the other YOs, sharing ideas, asking each other for support and guidance for our monthly actions
• Communicate via email, Facebook, teleconferences, one-on-one phone calls, etc.

Recruit other youth to join AYEA

• You must nominate another teen to attend AYEA’s Civics & Conservation Summit (5 days in Juneau each March)
• You are encouraged to attend AYEA’s Civics & Conservation Summit (not required)

Document your work & report to YOs and staff

• You will be required to keep track of and report the details of each action (e.g. names and contact info for everyone who participated in that action, # of postcards collected/ # of facebook posts/ # of letters to the editor, etc)
• Share monthly reports with AYEA staff and the group (2 sentences about your work + photos!)
• Complete the online project evaluation survey when your project is completed
• Participate in a group debrief teleconference in May

BENEFITS:

Diverse support network of youth from across Alaska

YOs build relationships with teens from diverse backgrounds and from all regions of the state, building cross-cultural understanding and developing a network of passionate youth advocates for change

Organizing Skills

You will develop experience with community organizing, developing skills necessary to advocate for any issue through grassroots organizing. Skills include political analysis, understanding controversial issues, speaking with people who disagree with you, public speaking, working with the media, using facebook for social change, recruiting volunteers, etc.

Opportunity to attend and lead future AYEA Trainings

AYEA’s Civics & Conservation Summit (Juneau, AK, in March) includes sessions on understanding Alaska’s political system, influencing legislation, messaging, and meeting with legislators

Adult mentors

• AYEA staff and volunteer adult mentors will provide support to YOs as individuals
• YOs will build relationships with conservation professionals and get a first-hand look at the behind-the-scenes work of environmental advocacy careers

Letters of recommendation, award nomination, job recommendations

• AYEA staff and volunteer adult mentors will nominate select leaders among the YOs for prestigious statewide and national award recognition
• Staff will provide letters of recommendation for jobs, college, scholarships, etc

Be a leader in the movement for environmental sustainability

You have the opportunity to truly make a difference for the future of Alaska. Stand up and have your voice heard. Join us. Make a difference!