The Digital Youth Advocacy Skills program sponsored by the Surdna Foundation aims to develop, promote and distribute advocacy media skills and a networking platform through which to apply them. The first phase involves peer-development of digital advocacy and networking training modules via funding to Becoming Citizens, a University of Washington youth advocacy skills internship program sponsored by CCCE.

In addition to developing media advocacy skill sets and peer training via Becoming Citizens, the project will alert Seattle-area youth to apply these skills in a public networking environment named Puget Sound Off (PSO) by its teen designers. PSO is co-sponsored by CCCE, the Metro Center YMCA, and the City of Seattle Department of Community Technology.

A marketing plan led by CCCE staff and a team of UW student interns helped launch the PSO site with a contest encouraging area teens to use their media skills to create advocacy messages in video, blog or music form.

More about this program and its links to the family of CCCE civic learning and advocacy projects can be found at our Civic Learning Online project site.

• 2009 Report: Online Engagement Resources