The Freechild Project
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The Freechild Project or Freechild is an international non-profit program connecting young people and social change around the world through a large online web portal for youth and adults. Freechild also provides a variety of training activities, publications, and other tools and partnerships that are strongly related to its website.
The Freechild Project is based in Olympia, Washington, and was founded in August 2001. Currently Freechild is a program of CommonAction, an IRS-designated 501c3 non-profit organization that supports "democracy communities" which sustain equal roles for young people. Through its direct training and technical assistance activities, Freechild has reached more than 30,000 youth and adults since 2001<Ref>CommonAction Activities. CommonAction. Retrieved on December 2, 2006.</ref>.
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[edit] Mission
"The Freechild Project is a resource, training, and consultation program working with individuals and organizations around the world. We focus on a variety of topics, including youth voice, youth-led activism, meaningful youth involvement, and youth-adult partnerships. Our mission is to advocate, inform, and celebrate social change led by and with young people around the world, particularly those who have been historically denied the right to participate."<ref>Mission Statement. The Freechild Project. Retrieved on December 2, 2006.</ref>
[edit] Structure
Freechild provides a comprehensive online website and free publications for young people and adults around the world. Freechild also provides training and technical assistance regarding youth involvement for community programs, government agencies, and foundations across the United States and Canada.
The Freechild Project is presided over by CommonAction's Board of Directors, and supported by an Advisory Board, a staff person, and contracted services. Currently, the Board of Directors includes founder and CommonAction Executive Director Adam Fletcher, President Michael Vavrus, Secretary Jessica Vavrus, Treasurer Andy Rosser, Vice President Jimmy Livengood, and members Kari Kunst, Adrienne Wiley-Thomas, Patricia Finnegan, and Doug Smith. The Advisory Board is headed by Advisory Board Chair Andrea Felix, with Henry Giroux, Jeff Conor, Mishaela Durán, Alex Koroknay-Palicz, Wendy Lesko, Tara Fayter, Heather Manchester, LaNovia Meuse, Jason Puz, and Joe Vavrus.
[edit] Past work
Through research, Freechild identified a massive variety of actions<Ref>Actions Led By Young People for Social Change. The Freechild Project. Retrieved on December 2, 2006.</ref> and issues being undertaken and issues<Ref>Issues Led By Young People for Social Change. The Freechild Project. Retrieved on December 2, 2006.</ref> being addressed by young people around the world who are committed to social change. Their research recognizes the "youth involvement gap" as one of the most important aspects in our nation's public life and as a significant dynamic in civic engagement. The term youth involvement gap refers to the trend of young people who are habitually disconnected from the duties of citizenship and critical membership throughout society.<ref>Guide to Social Change Led By and With Young People.. The Freechild Project. Retrieved on December 2, 2006.</ref> Studies conducted by universities and other organizations indicate that youth civic engagement is a more significant gauge of social engagement than many other variables.<ref>CIRCLE Youth Civic Index.. CIRCLE - University of Maryland. Retrieved on December 02, 2006.</ref>
In early 2003 Freechild launched several initiatives focused on developing a concise model of social change. These included:
- The Survey of International Youth Involvement - Examples and research supporting a variety of action
- The Freechild Listserve - A regular catalog of information and resources
- The Freechild Library - A collection of free publications from across the Internet
- Freechild Reading List - Books and reviews about young people and social change
- The Survey of North American Youth Rights - A comprehensive collection of resources on rights in schools, voting, communities, and more
From 2002 until the present Freechild has conducted several gatherings in Seattle, Washington, DC, Minneapolis, MN, and several other cities across the USA to conduct critical dialogues about youth involvement. The Freechild Project has also presented their findings in several conferences across the nation and around the world. In 2005 Freechild hosted a conference in Tacoma, Washington focused on reforming juvenile justice models in the US. used research proven strategies to conduct a voter registration and turnout program in 16 states.
[edit] Current work
The Freechild Project is creating a comprehensive guidebook that will summarize its work, and continues to provide training and technical assistance related to young people and social change.
[edit] References
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[edit] Related articles
- community youth development
- transparency
- youth participation
- school reform
- youth rights
- youth councils
- community development
- youth development
- service learning
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- youth development
[edit] External links
- The Freechild Project - The Freechild website.
- YoungerWorld - The Freechild blog.
- Freechild's MySpace Profile
- Freechild's Frappr
- NetSquared - Interview with founder and director Adam Fletcher on Freechild's role promoting youth activism using the Web.
- GlobalLocalPopEd Online Journal - Interview with founder and director Adam Fletcher on The Freechild Project's role in educating young people about globalization.
- The Meria Heller Show - Interview with founder Adam Fletcher on The Freechild Project's role in the youth activism movement.
- CommonAction - CommonAction is the NGO that hosts Freechild.
