Youth
Unleashing Student Power: PB in Colleges and Universities
Unleashing Student Power in Colleges and Universities By: Eric Billbrough Special thanks to Salvator Asaro, Alexander Kolokotronis, Jenni Innes, William Novello, Michael Menser, and Jacob Klipstein for sharing their experiences with PB and student government at their colleges and for their continued efforts to organize for more democratic campuses. As summer comes to a close,…
Read MoreInvesting in the Young Leaders of Today
The bell rings. Students spill from buildings into the hot, dry air of the desert. Concrete carries them into the sun. Heat waves along the horizon melt friends and buildings into distorted pools of color. The sting of the sun searing their skin distracts them from the oven-like air, but it does little to dull…
Read MoreHow students can decide school budgets and policies
Young people need safer and more supportive schools. Whether in Parkland, Florida, or in communities of color that face violence daily, students are demanding more of a say in how their schools are run. This spring, we showed how schools can take student voice to the next level: Invite students to directly decide school spending…
Read MoreWant to Improve Education? Empower the Students.
Top 5 reasons Participatory Budgeting improves students’ education. By: Shari Davis and Dylan Welch Autumn is here — and with it, a renewed conversation about how educators, parents, and communities improve their students’ education. Often in this discussion, solutions come down from on high through public officials or people within the educational system. This fall,…
Read MoreSummer News: Welcome a new wave of voters + civic innovation
PB increases voter likelihood by 7% New research shows that people who take part in PB are 7% more likely to vote in an election. Candidates are winning recent elections by narrow margins. A 7% increase in voter likelihood could reshape political landscapes. These findings confirm what we’ve been hearing for years: PB inspires participants to…
Read MoreSchool engagement that’s almost too good to be true
Last year, we shared the very wonderful story of how Participatory Budgeting (PB) was introduced at P.S. 139, a local elementary school in Brooklyn where Miro (the son of our co-Executive Director Josh Lerner) goes to school. PB addressed a sincere need at P.S. 139: a need to connect with families at a school of nearly…
Read MoreBuilding Community and Student Power in Public Universities
Urban public universities are difficult places to find community. In what are largely “commuter schools”, students have less opportunities to connect on a daily basis. Many students balance coursework, family commitments, and multiple jobs. It’s easy for campus life to fall by the wayside. In the face of this, Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a vital…
Read MoreBuilding Participatory Democracy at International Conference
Seventeen-year-old Participatory Budgeting Youth Fellow Jacinta Ojevwe stood before an international audience at our Innovations in Participatory Democracy Conference and said, “To breathe life into this revolution, young people must be involved. That means we have to go to where young people are” just before she declared: “I am not just here for this conference,…
Read MoreBIG News for PB in Schools – and a BIG invitation!
Did you hear? Just this week Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the launch of Participatory Budgeting (PB) in all public high schools in New York City! That’s over 400 schools in total! In his State of the City address, Mayor de Blasio emphasized: “We’ve got to prove to our young people that they’ve got the…
Read MoreMayor Launches Participatory Budgeting in All NYC High Schools
Following years of work by the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) and partners, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in his State of the City address on February 13th that he is launching participatory budgeting (PB) in all of the city’s public high schools (there are over 400 total). The City will give every…
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