Amplify youth voices in advocacy — Media is Your Megaphone shows you how.

Youth voices are one of the most powerful tools we have in advocacy. Their stories can change hearts, shape policy, and impact their communities. When young people share their experiences, insights, and hopes for the future, it resonates and inspires change.

It’s essential for programs and educators to amplify for youth voices and to provide tools that help young people advocate for the issues they care about. With prospective funding cuts to afterschool programs nationwide , we need to empower the young people in afterschool programs to share the importance and impact of afterschool program participation. The risk is enormous: 1.4 million children and young people across the United States are at risk of losing their afterschool programs if 21st Century Community Learning Centers funding is eliminated in next year’s federal budget. 94% of these programs offer afterschool STEM learning, which provide young people with opportunities to learn the STEM skills and knowledge to solve community challenges and be successful in their lives and careers.

The Collective for Youth Empowerment in STEM and Society (CYESS) has created just the tool to do that. Media is Your Megaphone is a free, five-part video series designed to help young people use media as a force for change.

How to use Media is Your Megaphone to support youth advocacy:

1. Introduce the toolkit to your youth participants.
   This set of modules will guide youth through essential topics such as crafting compelling messages, understanding media platforms, and effectively communicating their ideas to diverse audiences. We recommend starting with Module One and working your way through as you gain confidence and knowledge in how to share your message. If you have students interested in contributing to advocacy for your program, let them know that this resource is designed to help them speak up about what matters to them.
    
2. Watch the video series with students.
   Set up a movie day or play a single module at a time and convene a conversation with about the topic. Each of the five short videos walks youth through a different skill essential to media advocacy:
    
   • Why Engage the Media?  Understand why youth voices matter and how the media helps messages spread.
   • Honing Your Message. Learn how to shape a clear, powerful story that gets attention.
   • Booking TV and Radio. Get tips on how to contact news stations and pitch a story.
   • Delivering Your Message on TV and Radio. Practice speaking on-air and staying focused.
   • Publishing Guest Columns and Letters to the Editor. Discover how to write for the public and get published.
      
3. Integrate the content into your programming.
   • Use the videos as part of an advocacy club, leadership training, or youth advisory group.
      
   • After watching the videos, take time during your program to practice the skills presented. Have your students practice their elevator pitches, write a letter to the editor, or have students engage in mock interviews.
      
   • Share these videos with your staff and take some time out of a team meeting to discuss how you might use the content in your daily planning or curricula. Brainstorm together!
      
4. Connect interested youth with ongoing opportunities.

• Invite young people to join the CYESS Youth Consultants, a national group of youth ages 13–22 who help shape CYESS initiatives, advise on policy, and gain exclusive access to more tools and training.
   
• Connect young people with the Statewide Afterschool network in your state to see if there are opportunities to advocate at the state level.
   
• Sometimes youth may need some help with signing up for opportunities—make sure you and they understand any requirements to participate, including writing application packages, securing letters of recommendation, and filling out paper or online applications.

Visit the Youth Consultants page on CYESS.org to access the full Media is Your Megaphone toolkit and help young people amplify their voices for advocacy.

Visit AfterschoolWorksForAmerica.org to find more tools to fight for afterschool and summer learning programs. Sign up to get the latest afterschool and summer learning policy updates in your inbox.