Young people can often be powerful agents of change, acting as a catalyst for conversations around justice, equity, climate and the economy. However, young people are often underrepresented or even absent from many of the decision making processes that affect their lives for years to come. 

To help bridge this gap, Hawaiʻi Appleseed is partnering with the Kalihi Valley Instructional Bike Exchange (KVIBE), a youth empowerment program, to provide youth in the Kalihi community with the tools, confidence, and organizing skills to help shape the policy making process that directly affects their lives. 

Using the framing of leadership development, Hawaiʻi Appleseed is conducting a series of workshops that build skills in community organizing, advocacy, and campaign planning. Some of the weekly workshops include sessions on relationship building, problem solving, conducting one-on-one meetings, legislative advocacy, as well as self-care and accountability. These are designed to inspire critical thinking, encourage curiosity, and to help youth see themselves as leaders in creating solutions for their community.    

Using an active Hawaiʻi Appleseed policy campaign around creating a state-level child tax credit for Hawaiʻi as an example, KVIBE youth are also learning the basics of tax policy—how regressive taxes can be harmful to low-income families, and how a child tax credit can offset that damage and boost economic security for working families raising children.

Combining this knowledge of an active policy campaign with the skills learned in weekly leadership development workshops, KVIBE youth are given an opportunity to design, develop, and implement campaign activities while getting hands-on experience in advocacy and organizing both in their Kalihi community, as well as at the state legislature. 

In year two of the project, Hawaiʻi Appleseed will be providing technical assistance and mentorship to these young leaders in developing their own policy campaign, going from issue identification, to policy development, to outreach, to organizing and advocacy. We hope that immersing these young leaders in every aspect of policy campaign planning will instill a sense of empowerment and commitment to their community, as well as inspire a willingness to be the change-makers for working families throughout Hawaiʻi.

At its core, this partnership is about investment. It’s about investing in the belief that young people have the power to shape the world they envision for themselves. However, we don’t need to wait 10 years or 20 years to see this investment pay off. When we invest in youth leadership and advocacy, we're not just preparing for the future, we are providing young people with the tools to also shape the present. 

In a community like Kalihi, where many working families can face multiple barriers to economic success, programs like this provide the kind of hands-on experience that empower youth to tackle problems they encounter in their everyday lives. While people in power sometimes hand wave the voice of youth in policy conversations, our partnership with KVIBE is a reminder that young people can and should be integral components of the decision-making process. Given the right set of skills, confidence, and political acumen, we believe in empowering youth to demand that their voices be heard and be treated as a viable force in the policymaking process. 

The collaboration between Hawaiʻi Appleseed and KVIBE is a prime example of what can happen when organizations unite to empower young people. Together, we are planting the seeds of leadership, advocacy, and community engagement that will grow from one generation to the next. 

To learn more about the KVIBE program you can watch this video.

For additional information about our campaign to create a state-level child tax credit, you can read our report “Investing in Hawaiʻi’s Future: A Keiki Credit for Hawaiʻi.”

We’ll continue to update you on our partnership and the status of our campaign as work together to build a better Hawaiʻi for our keiki and their families.