At Youth Speaks, the voices of youth matter.Committed to a critical, youth-centered pedagogy, Youth Speak placesstudents in control over their intellectual and artistic development.We are urgently driven by the belief that literacy is a need, not awant, and that literacy comes in various forms.

Youth Speaks believes that having knowledge,practice, and confidence in the written and spoken language isessential to the self-empowerment of an individual. We fill a need forcreative approaches to literary arts education and literacy in general;we believe it is crucial to provide spaces where youth can undergo aprocess of personal growth and transformation in a program thatenriches their educational, professional, and leadership skills.

As we more deeply move into the 21st Century,oral poetry is helping to define the American Voice. By making theconnection between poetry, spoken word, and classroom settings, YouthSpeaks aims to deconstruct dominant narratives in hopes of achieving amore inclusive, and active, learning experience. Believing that youngpeople have the tools to take control of their lives through language,Youth Speaks encourages youth to express themselves using their ownvernacular. The idea of “talent” or being “talented” is often viewed asa mysterious force bestowed on a given individual, rather than theresult of hard work, practice, and commitment.

We Believe in Voice
We believe it is critical that young people have opportunities to find,develop, publicly present, and intentionally apply their voices.Silence is a powerful thing when chosen, but incredibly oppressive whenforced upon its victims.

We Believe in Continuum
We are committed to providing opportunities for youth to engage withthe tradition of oral literacy and oral poetics so as to immortalizethe voices of today’s young writers.

We Believe in Community
Youth Speaks reflects diversity and engenders a community of youngartists who reach across demographic boundaries toward self-explorationand growth, providing a platform where conflicts are resolved on thepage or the stage, rather than on the street.

We Believe in Contemporary Culture
Youth Speaks is committed to the written and spoken word, innovatingour program so that it remains accessible and attractive to thepopulation we serve, and reflects their stories without leaving out thestories that have come before.

We Believe in Individual and Social Transformation
Youth Speaks provokes movement from silence to empowerment based inliberatory pedagogy and youth development. We intend to democratize acivic population of youth by giving them a platform to speak.

We Believe in Excellence
We challenge young people to find their own voices, to work hard toapply them, and to do so responsibly. We ask youth to not be afraid oftheir own potential; we promise them we won’t.