Recently, we asked a group of leaders ‘ what does it take to empower youth and engage them in their communities?

Several talked about the importance of building up support networks for teens and young adults – whether that means strengthening their own family, or providing mentors who are close to their age (‘near peers’ as City Year‘s Michael Brown described it).

Hear also what Maurice Lim Miller of’Family Independence Initiative and Eric Dawson of’Peace First had to say about key elements to engaging youth, and read our previous blog posts on the topic, a focus on Knight Foundation’s work to promote informed and engaged communities.

If you have an idea for building a community for youth engagement, we’d love to hear it. ‘Tomorrow we’ll share some more.

(Photo by Jessica McWade)