In Their Words: Youth Perspectives on Engaging in Democracy

Young people have valuable experiences and perspectives about civic life and democratic participation. Youth's first-hand knowledge and expertise of the motivations and barriers that shape their generation's civic engagement should be at the center of all conversations, efforts, and strategies to strengthen young people's participation.

CIRCLE's 2026 Youth Expertise Series, In Their Words, is a series of analyses and commentary from young leaders that brings their voices to the forefront. This year, we asked four young people to select from one of the following prompts: 

• What affects youth civic and political engagement in your community? How can these conditions be addressed to increase youth participation? What helps young people overcome obstacles to being involved? What is effective in mobilizing young leaders?

• What kind of expertise do young people in your community have? How can organizations and advocates tap into that knowledge to better serve and improve the community? 

• How can we establish or improve partnerships between young leaders and non-youth-specific organizations (like election offices or news outlets)?

• Do you see your peers struggling with their / their families' economic situation? How does it affect their civic engagement? What can communities do to support them?

• CIRCLE shows many youth don't like the way U.S. politics is working and want to change it. How do you see youth attitudes about democracy manifesting among your peers? What kind of messages motivate them to participate despite their concerns about democracy?

• What are some issues that don't get a lot of national attention that youth in your community care about a lot? How can organizations tap into that civic interest and energy for youth engagement?

We received over 50 submissions, and selected four incredible writers who have taken on complex and nuanced topics such as local governance and how it affects young people, volunteerism, new models of youth-adult partnerships, and how the local economy can change the trajectories of young people's lives and economic futures. Two posts will go live the week of October 5, 2026, and two will be posted the week of October 

We appreciate these four young leaders for sharing their expertise with us, and we encourage scholars and practitioners to incorporate their insights into civic engagement programs and practices.