Youth

Since young people are the leaders of tomorrow, we at ISC take a special interest in helping them step into this role with all the tools and skills they need to make their communities thrive. We help teenagers and young adults become stronger leaders, develop a sense of belonging, collaborate with adults, and develop the skills they need to transform their communities.

In so many of countries where we work, massive unemployment, political instability, widespread poverty, overwhelmed school systems, and a weak social safety net have left young people without a positive role to play in their communities—and contribute to youth flight to larger cities or other countries. With high rates of jobless youth who turn to crime or substance abuse, a rift of mistrust often appears between young and old adults. And while young people may grapple with these issues on a broader scale in many transitional countries, youth in the United States face very similar issues.

Tangible Results

Below are a few examples of how we have helped young people step into the future as strong, creative leaders.

• A generation of young people in Serbia, after years of war, sparked a movement toward an open democratic society that reversed years of authoritarian rule. But the next generation found themselves with few skills to move beyond political activism to the daily work and collaboration needed to make their communities thrive. ISC and our partners, YouthBuild International and Civic Initiatives, helped young people transform their roles in their communities. Young people in the town of Aleksinac formed the youth group "Talas," for example, which provided 150 unemployed youth with language, computer, and professional developing training, held job and community forums, created a summer drive-in theatre in a parking lot, and organized basketball tournaments for teens—among other activities. Today, Talas is a registered nonprofit that receives municipal funding and space to carry on community service activities.
• Our project in Serbia spawned a network of youth—serving organizations that collaborated on a national youth policy campaign that successfully incorporated youth needs into government policy and actions. Today we continue to support this network through a broader project that is bolstering the nonprofit sector.
• While we provide training and coaching to many youth-serving nonprofits in Ukraine, we gave office space and mentoring to the youth-led nonprofit Youth Can, which uses educational tools and practical experience to help active young people in Ukraine bring about positive change. During an intensive summer retreat, participants choose training tracks and design projects that they can implement on their return home.
• Our Leadership for a Changing World program has supported many outstanding and creative leaders working with young people throughout the United States. In Milwaukee, for example, Reggie Moore's Urban Underground helps young people find personal responsibility, collective leadership, creative expression, and unconditional respect. "Urban Underground is a place where teens become agents of change instead of objects of it," says Moore. And in New York City, the Brotherhood/Sister Sol provides stability, mentoring, and community to young people over several years to help them make their dreams a reality.