Organization Spotlight: Next Generation Politics

Next Generation Politics (NGP) was founded in response to the 2016 election and according to Sanda Balaban, Cofounder & Director of NGP, “in recognition of the breadth of civic breakdown in our country, low youth voting rates, the minimal level of action-oriented civic education in our schools, and the extent of segregation of students within even diverse and dynamic cities”. They work to bring teens together to create generational-wide change by deepening their understanding of what it means to be civically engaged, challenged and informed.

NGP provides a platform for civically-minded youth from all parts of the city to “model civil dialogue across various divides--socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, political, and regional; to challenge norms; and to represent all kinds of diversity, especially of perspective and ideas”. NGP is youth led, and supported by adult allies. They work to build civic identity, agency, and efficacy.

NGP emphasizes its reflective and respectful approach to engaging in civic discourse “Our culture is built around deliberation, a process of thoughtfully weighing options emphasizing the use of logic, reason, and weighing perspectives as opposed to power-struggle, debate, or cancelling”.

New York City is an amazing place to help amplify our understanding of the issues that impact us and create solutions through civic engagement rather than sow division.

Next Gen Politics has a number of initiatives youth can get involved with!

• Read their blog, subscribe to their blog, and/or apply to write for their blog

• Listen to their weekly podcast, The Round Table

• Join the production team if you’re interested in helping produce, sound edit, or be an outreach ambassador.

• Sign up for their weekly Social (Distancing) Issues Cinema Club

• And/or contribute to their running list of films to watch and discuss together here)

• Participate in their Cross Partisan Civic Lab

• Explore Conservatism in the aftermath of Trump and launching a Cross-Partisan Youth Census to gauge young people’s understanding of various political philosophies and ideologies and to generate content to address gaps. Email Sanda@nextgenpolitics.org if you’re interested!

• Join NGP’s Social Media Creators Corps

• Help create posts to build civic knowledge and civil discourse for teens across the country. They are hoping to ramp up our social media presence and would love to add you to the mix. DM here.

• Apply for the Civic Fellowship in the Fall

• Participate in monthly conversations that emphasize multiple perspectives with civic-minded teens from high schools across the city. Our Next Generation Politics Civic Fellowship includes an online Sunday Civic Forum series in the fall and in-depth, cross-school Civic Action Internship in the spring. Sign up here to receive an application for next year when they become available.