MG2010 RazooNIT: National Youth Rights Association

The National Youth Rights Association (NYRA) was founded by a group of high school and college students who were tired of everyone thinking young people were the problem. They believed that youth are the solution.

So they started a youth-led organization dedicated to defending the civil and human rights of young people in the United States by educating people about youth rights, empowering young people to work on their own behalf in defense of their rights, and taking positive steps to lessen the burden of ageism.

Many of today’s youth feel alienated and isolated from society. Young people are excluded from the world around them to their, and our, detriment. Excluding young people from society robs us of the group with the highest ideals and greatest opportunity to make positive change. Isolating and controlling youth curtails their development and traps them in a state of prolonged adolescence. Young citizens who have the capacity to make adult decisions are often treated like children far beyond the point where they developed this capacity.

It is up to us, the youth, to work with towards a solution. Throughout history, youth have been the vanguard of social change, selflessly sacrificing themselves for the good of others. They have applied their enthusiasm, innate sense of social justice, and boundless energy to every major social change movement in American history. NYRA harnesses this energy and inventiveness and funnels it towards change. Active civic participation by America’s youth will create the next generation of socially aware leaders, and lead to a future with an involved and active citizenry.

Other groups may engage youth in civic advocacy and other groups may work to defend the rights of youth, but NYRA is unique in combining the two. No cause is more engaging than one that is personally relevant and there are no stronger advocates than those who advocate for themselves. Those two goals reinforce and strengthen each other. To address the ostracization of youth we work to change policy, but also to change attitudes. Our members work to reform barriers that exclude youth, however if they fall short of their policy objectives they still achieve impressive results. Organizing and articulately defending themselves changes the attitudes of adults around them and the empowering experience changes the attitude of the young people themselves. We cannot fail.

We seek to double our impact by doubling the number of NYRA chapters in 2010. Our grassroots chapters are where the real work takes place. By adding twelve more chapters in strategic locations, we can build local leadership, increase our ability to advocate, and develop the capacity of young people to provide positive leadership in their communities; all while promoting youth-led community organizing and building our membership.

With your support, anything is possible.