YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

YOUTH BOARD

Each year, a group of 25 committed Urban Word NYC poets act in service of their peers as part of our youth board, Word Wide. They envision, advise, and implement projects that reach out to other youth around the city. Members visit public schools, community centers, poetry festivals, homeless shelters, train stations, and juvenile detention facilities. There they kick poems, run writing exercises, promote Urban Word NYC’s free resources and prove to adults and youth alike that spoken word poetry has artistic and educative value — and is anything but boring.

YOUTH MENTORING

Students who have been involved in a year of workshops can try their hand at teaching. The youth mentor position serves as a bridge between adult mentors and the students in the workshops. We rely on youth mentors to keep workshops student-centered and to craft writing and performance exercises that are relevant to the lives of the youth in the workshop. They work closely with their partner mentors and attend bi-annual mentor trainings and bi-weekly mentor meetings.

HOSTS AND DJs

Leading by example, youth involved with Urban Word NYC set the stage for many of our open mics and teen poetry slams. They create a youth-for-youth space by hosting and DJing events, and by doing the legwork of signing up poets to perform and spreading the word about upcoming events and opportunities.

INTERNSHIPS

Many Urban Word NYC alumni return during the summers and stay involved in the community they helped create. We encourage youth to design research projects that work in concert with what the organization needs. Participants have documented what student progress looks like; initiated new intensive programs; contributed new ideas to our spoken word curriculum; and helped dispel the myths of college to students still in high school.

YOUTH BOARD / YOUTH MENTOR APPLICATION

Urban Word NYC is seeking energetic, committed, creative and hard-working youth who’ve been involved in Urban Word NYC to become involved in our leadership program.  For 2006 - 2007 we are offering 20 youth leadership positions. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

Word Wide is the youth board within Urban Word NYC that keeps the organization moving forward, makes it responsible to the needs and wants of the young people it serves, and gives youth responsibility and voice in the direction and running of the organization.

The Youth Mentor program provides an opportunity for youth to be directly involved in the development and teaching of Urban Word NYC’s after-school creative writing / spoken word and off-site workshops.

Word Wide members and Youth Mentors are active Urban Word NYC participants who show a high level of commitment to their art, their peers, and to the Urban Word NYC community.

Interested in applying? Come in and pick one up in the office or email a request for an application to Tahani (Youth Outreach Coordinator). This is a great opportunity to make a difference in an organization you feel is making a difference.