Youth Civic Solutions Winners Shine at NCoC 2024 Conference

On Tuesday, December 10^th in a crowded Planet Word Museum classroom in Washington, DC, National Conference on Citizenship participants listened intently as winners of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars’ Youth Civic Solutions Competition shared their winning ideas.

The national competition, which ran from August 30 to October 4, 2024, asked young people, aged 14 to 24 to share their bold, creative ideas for improving civic health among their peers in the areas of civic knowledge, engagement, and trust.

Nearly 150 answered the challenge in either a written submission of no more than 300 words or a video of less than sixty seconds. There were entries from 28 states as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.  The depth and quality of the responses were inspiring to the three panels of selectors charged with reviewing and identifying the winning submissions.

The hour-long session gave conference participants—mostly from generations older than Gen Z—an opportunity to hear directly from 7 of the 10 winners. Each winner shared their idea with the group and then facilitated in-depth breakout conversations with session participants. Notable was the intensity with which session participants listened to the young people, leaning into the conversations, asking questions, but largely ceding the floor to the winners.

Our winners left not only with new contacts that will support their projects, but also left the session with new ideas and insights that will significantly propel their work forward.

After a day filled with nearly 20 information-rich workshops and lively panel discussions, the Youth Civic Solutions Competition winners were featured on the conference’s main stage during the culminating formal awards ceremony, which honored Daniella Levine Cava, the Mayor of Miami-Dade County and former Executive Director of Catalyst Miami and Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

With an eye toward the future, the ceremony culminated in the award presentations to the Civic Solutions Competition Winners. As their names were announced, they came to the stage to receive a crystal award to complement the $1,000 prize they were already awarded. With poise and conviction, bolstered by the conversations they had throughout the day, each winner shared their idea to the entire conference. It was an inspiring conclusion to a day focused on civic action and collaboration.

If we have cause for concern about what lies ahead for us as a nation, we can take heart in knowing that there are young people across the country who are not only thinking about the issues with which we grapple daily, they are actively tackling them. And while they may be seeking our support, they aren’t waiting for our permission.

The ten winners that we had the privilege of getting to know are evidence of what young people can achieve when we give them the space, opportunity, tools, and encouragement to do great things.

Thank you to the National Conference on Citizenship for their incredible work, a spectacular conference, and for enabling us to recognize and honor our winners who embody this year’s conference theme Renewing Civic Health!