Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2006

Abstract

THE FREECHILD PROJECT HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR A WHILE. In the five years since we began, The Freechild Project has identified three powerful trends in social change led by and with young people:

1. Social change led by young people is not all about young people. Instead, children and youth are working for their communities, their families, their cities, and their world. Action that is focused on youth issues often addresses young people as a whole, not isolating other youth because of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.

2. More action has led to more sophistication, creating more sustainable outcomes. Youth-led social change is not new; the tools and strategies being developed stand on the shoulders of giants from more than a century ago. However, the increasing sophistication and intentionality have heightened the effectiveness of youths' approaches and deepened the impacts they are having throughout communities.

3. A broad youth movement exists today. Media is not talking about it, researchers are generally not aware of it, and even young people do not know they belong to it. However, this decentralization in social movements today is part of a trend called "The Multitudes," in which localized action without focal-point leaders is subtly, powerfully changing the world.

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© 2006 by CommonAction

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