YIA Leading With

Youth In Action's mission statement is "Youth In Action gives the space for youth share their stories, practice leadership, and create change in their communities." With this mission statement they are showing that they give youth a space to work on their leadership skills and use that to make change instead of saying something like "We create change for youth in their community" YIA really embodies leading with youth by giving them a voice. What really stuck out to me was part of their vision statement which said "YIA serves as an open and safe space where youth can voice their opinions and experiences, and are given the trust and respect to creatively apply their unique talents within their own lives and their communities. By building power, leadership and action amongst youth in frontline communities, we believe a more equitable and safe world is possible." I really like the words trust and respect in this section because the amount of power that is given to youth at YIA in what they want to see from the group and what they want to do is often not the power given in other spaces. Incorporating all of the youth in YIA's diverse backgrounds and talents and creating spaces to allow them to discuss these backgrounds is what makes YIA a great example of leading with youth.