The Creative Youth Development (CYD) Toolkit Series is a virtual learning series featuring dynamic online conversations with youth, experts, funders, and practitioners to explore new paths forward for supporting youth through creative youth development practice.
Practitioners will especially benefit from these conversations as they strive to support youth during this moment of crisis.
Advocacy and Policy
April 8, 2020 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET, Free
“Working together and in a coordinated fashion, we can achieve more for young people” (CYD National Action Blueprint). This belief is at the heart of advocacy and policy efforts to advance creative youth development. By intentionally and flexibly navigating a multi-pronged advocacy strategy, developing strong networks, and keeping equity and youth leadership at the center, advocates can achieve a greater impact and remain adaptive to changes in the political environment and the field.
In this fourth webinar in the CYD Toolkit Series, Ed Spitzberg will share key trends from his landscape paper, “Advocacy and Policy” published by Americans for the Arts and the CYD National Partnership. Ed will be joined by field practitioners Jahiem Geovanni Jones, alumnus, and Tara Malik, Media, Arts, & Culture Director at RYSE; and Erik Peterson, Sr. Vice President of Policy at Afterschool Alliance. The discussion will be moderated by Sofia Fojas, Visual and Performing Arts District Level Director, Elk Grove Unified School District.
Read the “Advocacy and Policy” landscape analysis (PDF)
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Preparing Artists and Educators
April 28, 2020 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET, Free
Preparing artists and educators for CYD practice requires more than basic orientation and professional development. Artists and educators must have a commitment to honor young people’s lived experiences and to support their stories and dreams through creative expression. They must create environments where racial equity, youth voice, and collective action are central.
In this fifth webinar in the CYD Toolkit Series, Travis Laughlin discusses key trends and recommendations from his landscape paper, “Preparing Artists and Educators,” published by Americans for the Arts and the CYD National Partnership. Some of these recommendations include hiring practicing artists and staff of diverse backgrounds, equity training, and authentic community engagement rooted in reciprocity and respect. In this webinar, Travis will be joined by teaching artists and other practitioners of this work.
Read the “Preparing Artists and Educators” landscape analysis (PDF)
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Funding, Sustainability, and Partnerships
May 29, 2020 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET, Free
The funding and sustainability of CYD programs requires organizations to think creatively and broadly. While CYD has deep roots, the field is still coalescing. Creating sustainable funding practices for CYD requires field-building and collaboration between practitioners, funders, and other stakeholders that are not strictly in the arts.
In the sixth webinar in the CYD Toolkit Series, Meredith Eppel Jylkka discussed key trends and recommendations from her landscape paper, “Funding, Sustainability and Partnerships,” published by Americans for the Arts and the CYD National Partnership. Borrowing from field-building strategies and adjacent sectors, she and other key stakeholders will share insights into ways the CYD field can develop a range of funding and sustainability strategies by uplifting innovative programs, developing broad support networks, creating public-private partnerships, and more.
Read the “Funding, Sustainability, and Partnerships” landscape analysis (PDF)
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Program Evaluation
June 23, 2020 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. ET, Free
Evaluating creative youth development practice builds on a long history of lived experience and an ever-growing body of knowledge in the youth development sector. The best touchstone for these evaluations is the value of “creative inquiry and expression” that underpins CYD itself. CYD evaluation strategies should align with the core values of the movement by involving youth in their design and application, honoring creative expression, and using mixed-methodological approaches that capture CYD’s holistic outcomes.
In this seventh webinar in the CYD Toolkit Series, Justin Jalea discusses trends and recommendations from his landscape paper, “Program Evaluation,” published by Americans for the Arts and the CYD National Partnership. He will be joined by practitioners that are integrating youth participation in program evaluation and using data to boldly and creatively demonstrate impact.
Read the “Program Evaluation” landscape analysis (PDF)
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Learn more about our previous sessions
This virtual learning series is brought to you by the Creative Youth Development National Partnership. One of the National Partners, Americans for the Arts, recently spearheaded the development of 7 written briefs authored by field experts as part of the first phase of a creative youth development toolkit for the field. All webinars are hosted by the National Guild for Community Arts Education and made possible by generous support from the Clare Rose Foundation.