Twice each year, Generation Citizen hosts Civics Day at the Massachusetts State House. Civics Day is an opportunity for all of the GC students to showcase their work from the semester, demonstrate how they learned to identify the root cause of a civic issue, establish a plan and take action. It was at Civics Day in 2014 that I first discovered how GC is empowering young people to speak up and be heard. From cafeteria food to youth violence, the GC students are learning how to explain their view point and motivate all of us to influence change in the community.
Now, as a member of the Boston Board of GC, I was honored to serve as a judge at the December 2015 Civics Day. Aliyah Jackson was named GC Student Changemaker and delivered an inspirational closing speech about her experience with GC and encouraging all students to engage:
“…we are never too young to fight for what we believe in. The future of our society is in our voices. We have the power to make a difference each and everyday. So what are we afraid of? We should work together as a whole and mold our future for the better. Our journey doesn’t stop here with Generation Citizen, it’s only just the beginning to the future we wish to see.”
Aliyah’s complete speech is posted here (video) and below:
Want more? Here are some highlights from the most recent GC Civics Day:
- Speech from Keynote Attorney General Maura Healey
- Q&A with our College ChangeMaker, Jasmine Heyward from Northeastern
- Q&A with our Teacher ChangeMaker, Mike Andrews from Josiah Quincy Upper School
- Press coverage of Chinatown class that advocated for Bill H119 – an act to end child homelessness
- Press coverage of Malden class that advocated to bring violence prevention strategies successful in Boston to Malden
What will inspire us at Generation Citizen’s 2016 Civics Days? I can’t wait to see.
