Your Voice. Your Future. Our Democracy.

Overview

What does democracy mean to someone like you?

Think about your day so far. Who decided what time school starts, whether your neighborhood has a park, or when your trash gets picked up?

Decisions like these are often made through a democratic process, in which voters elect people to make choices for their community. Most of you can’t vote (yet), but you don’t have to wait to take part in democracy.

Democracy is about more than voting. It’s about sharing ideas, listening to different perspectives, speaking up about issues we care about, and working as a community to make a difference. By raising awareness, bringing people together, and finding ways to improve the places where we live, young people like you can help shape your communities right now.

So, what matters to you? What would you like to change, improve, or protect in your home, school, community, or the wider world? How can you and other young people help make that happen?

If you are a student aged 11–18, share your perspective, express your ideas, and show how young people like you can help shape democracy and the future we share.

Step 1: Consider

Think about these questions:

What does democracy mean to you?
What is something in your school, community, or the wider world that matters to you?
How can young people work together to raise awareness, influence decisions, or make a difference?

Step 2: Explore Your Ideas Further

Watch Is America Truly a Democracy? from PBS’s Civics Made Easy series. As you watch, think about who gets to participate in democracy, how that participation has changed over time, and why it matters whose voices are heard.

This video is part of PBS’s Civics Made Easy series, which offers additional videos and lessons on civic engagement.

Step 3: Create

Create an original piece of creative work that expresses what democracy means to you and how young people can help shape it.

What matters to you? What would you like to change or protect? How can young people work together to make their voices heard?

Choose any medium that helps you express your ideas. You might create a poem, drawing, song, story, video, comic, photograph, or something else entirely. The choice is yours!

Step 4: Share

Along with your creative work, write a short reflection completing this thought:

“I may not be old enough to vote (yet), but I am old enough to shape our future. My peers and I can participate in democracy by…”

There is no single right answer. We want to hear your perspective!
Before you finish, make sure your work expresses your ideas about democracy and how young people can help shape the future.

Step 5: Review and Share.

Make sure your creative work expresses your perspective and explores how students like you can help shape democracy. Submit your work to Creative Changemakers and watch your inbox for an email confirming it has been added to our online gallery!

Your voice matters, and you have a role to play. Democracy is shaped not only by how adults vote, but also by how people share ideas, listen to one another, work together, and participate in their communities. Young people are part of that process, right now!