Recent census data reveals that approximately 6 million young people in the United States, aged 16-24, are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor market
Contact: Lizette Olmos Godfrey
Media Relations
lizette.olmosgodfrey@aspeninstitute.org
Boston, MA, May 30, 2024 –– The OYF Spring forum brought together 751 attendees from urban, rural, native, tribal and indigenous communities across the Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF) network. The Aspen Forum for Community Solutions Opportunity Youth Forum Spring Convening took place at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza last week from May 20-22, addressing the pressing challenges faced by opportunity youth.
In Boston alone nearly 5,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are neither attending school nor working. Youth and young adult allies and advocates in the field refer to them as “opportunity youth” because they represent an enormous untapped potential. Without the necessary education and training needed to secure stable employment, these youth and their families face challenging realities and futures.
“All our conversations at the core have been about seeing and owning our humanity. We’re here to show what the future world can look like, what democracy can look like, what moving from transactional-relationships to transformational-relationships can look like,” said Monique Miles, Vice President of the Aspen Institute.
Keynote speakers included:
- Damon T. Hewitt, President and Executive Director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
- Marshall Ganz, Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society, Harvard Kennedy School
- Pam Eddinger, President, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC)
- Cory McCarthy, Chief of Student Support, Boston Public Schools
- Manuel Pastor, Distinguished Professor, Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity, Director, USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute
- Shawn Ginwright, PhD, Professor of Education, Africana Studies Department and Senior Research Associate, San Francisco State University
- Hikma Sherka, Program Director, Youth Engagement, Every Hour Counts – Advocate and Community Organizer
- Zenetta Zepetta, Research Consultant, FreshTrack’s Wellbeing Program
- Marshall Ganz, Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society, Harvard Kennedy School
- Pam Eddinger, President, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC)
- Cory McCarthy, Chief of Student Support, Boston Public Schools
- Shawn Ginwright, PhD, Professor of Education, Africana Studies Department and Senior Research Associate, San Francisco State University
- Hikma Sherka, Program Director, Youth Engagement, Every Hour Counts – Advocate and Community Organizer
- Zenetta Zepetta, Research Consultant, FreshTrack’s Wellbeing Program
Click on the link to view the list of funders: https://www.aspencommunitysolutions.org/funders-supporters/
For any questions or to conduct interviews, please contact lizette.olmosgodfrey@aspeninstitute.org.
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The Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions was launched in 2012 in response to the social challenges affecting people in need. A cross-sector leadership group convened by the White House Council on Community Solutions examined this situation, and released several seminal reports that served to launch the Forum for Community Solutions at the Aspen Institute.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.