YouthPoweredMediaMN®

St. Paul Youth Services’ first youth-led virtual storytelling hub.

Our Objective

Reclaiming Black legacy through digital storytelling.

Program Goals:

• Broader awareness of solutions identified, prioritized, and designed by Black students themselves.

• Change approaches to creating racial equity for Black youth by putting youth in the driver’s seat instead of making assumptions about how policies impact their lives.

• Demonstration of a pioneering and sustainable model for community change to dismantle systemic racism and white supremacy and create educational equity.

St. Paul Youth Services YouthPoweredMediaMN℠ Leadership Institute offers an online storytelling hub where Black youth are compensated for their intellectual capital, lived experiences, and contributions to improve our communities. Youth can virtually gather; relearn, reclaim, and celebrate their identity and culture; and create and share tools and resources for youth leadership across the state, the country, and the world.

Based on our successful YouthPowerMN℠ model, this project partners with Black youth to design and co-create media-based tools and learning resources for youth, including learning tools and online curricula.

St. Paul Youth Services provides the technology and partners with Black youth to amplify their stories to dream, build, lead, and create institutional change using online platforms, as well as digital tools to saturate spaces with Black youth voices.

Storytelling is fundamental to Black culture; By using digital tools YouthPoweredMediaMN℠ reconnects this legacy to Black youth locally, nationally, and globally.

NOTE: At this time, YouthPowerMN℠ and YouthPoweredMediaMN℠ Leadership Program enrollment is open to Black youth ages 13-18 who are currently or were previously participants in our Behavior Intervention Program or Pre-Charge Diversion program.