What is CYD?

What is Creative Youth Development?

Creative Youth Development is a commitment to supporting young people’s stories, ideas, and dreams through creative expression and honoring their lived experience.

In order to create environments that promote Creative Youth Development, these three concepts must be present:

Racial Equity and Social Justice

Shaking up the system to create a space where all people of color feel represented, supported, and cared for.

Creating an even playing field where young people’s needs are understood, their stories are heard, and they are treated as equals.

“We as youth must now be the change that we seek. If you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.”

– Joann Davis, Visual Arts Intern, RYSE Youth Center

Youth Voices

Youth speak for themselves and have voices that are valuable.

An adult’s role is to be an ally – not a critic – to value youth’s stories and experiences and ensure youth leadership and decision making within organizations and programs.

“As youth of this city we need to resist. Show adults that we are not what they think we are, speak for those who can’t speak for themselves. We need to flip the script.”

– Isaiah Grant, Video Fellow and Poet, RYSE Youth Center

Collective Action

All voices are essential to supporting racial equity, youth voice, and social justice.

It takes a community to create change, to generate new ideas, and to shake the system.

“Be water. Flood the system.”

– Marques Egan, Youth Leader and Administrative Assistant, RYSE Youth Center

 

The text within this graphic are repeated in the What is CYD? page's body text.
These graphics on this page were created by RYSE Visual Arts AMP (Advanced Media Producer) interns, Tearra Brintley, Chris Collin, Joann Davis, Candice Green, Azaria Kates, Nyree McDaniels, and Hadassah Williams, in collaboration with RYSE Visual Arts Coordinator, Webster Quoc Nguyen.
What does creative youth development look like in practice? Race, Equity, and Social Justice. Young folxs of color cannot be heard, supported, or seen if their experiences are not understood, believed, or advocated for. For adult allies, it is necessary to create an environment where young folx of color are supported. Racial equity cannot be attained without changing the systems that keep our young folxs in disparity and deficit.
What does creative youth development look like in practice? Youth Voice. While our differences may oftentimes feel dividing, collective action is a call to create change that can benefit us all. It takes a village! It is essential for youth stories, experiences, and voices to be heard and honored as an opportunity to build bridges, to understand and to hold space together rather than use for ones personal or organizational gain. For adult allies, remembering that young people know what they need, that their feelings are valid, and that it is the job of adult allies to support them in traversing through the obstacles are critical for true allyship.
What does creative youth development look like in practice? Collective Action. In order for us to truly represent all youth voices and to create racial equity and social justice, there must be a seat at the table for all youth voices. It is vital to create a safe space to share, feel, and be understood by your community.
 

Check out our video showcase for stories of youth experiences in leadership, racial equity and social justice, and collective action in their communities — the core values of Creative Youth Development.

Young artists and activists from RYSE Youth Center (Richmond, CA) and youth leaders from Re:Frame Youth Arts Center (Phoenix, AZ) held a series of conversations to discuss Creative Youth Development (CYD) from 2019-2020. They met over video calls to discuss how they define CYD values, what CYD looks like in practice, and their expectations of adult partners in CYD spaces. These graphic images emerged from these conversations to help guide adult practitioners and spark larger conversations with youth and adults in the field of CYD. The images were created by RYSE Visual Arts AMP (Advanced Media Producer) interns, Tearra Brintley, Chris Collin, Joann Davis, Candice Green, Azaria Kates, Nyree McDaniels, and Hadassah Williams, in collaboration with RYSE Visual Arts Coordinator, Webster Quoc Nguyen.

Proudly powered by WordPress