Mayor Michelle Wu recently joined the Department of Youth Engagement and Employment to swear in the 2022 – 2023 Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC). These 86 high school students work to give teens a voice in City government by advising the Mayor and her Cabinet on issues pertinent to their peers. This is the most diverse Youth Council in the program’s history and the most proportional in representing the number of youth in each Boston neighborhood.
“This year, the Mayor’s Youth Council received the most applications in its history, demonstrating the energy and activism of our City’s young people,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “The 86 selected members represent every neighborhood and community across our city, and I’m excited to work with them on priorities and issues most important to our next generation of leaders.”
The Mayor’s Youth Council is a model of youth inclusion in government and civic engagement. As the first Mayor’s Youth Council in the nation, it has spurred cities across the nation, and even internationally, to examine how they include youth in local government.
Members, or Ambassadors, of the MYC serve for one term and act as representatives for all young people who reside in Boston. Students were selected following an extensive application and interview process. This year, the Youth Council accepted 100 percent of returning members who re-applied, and saw a record-breaking number of more than 300 applicants. The number of youth representing neighborhoods is based on census data that indicates where young people live. MYC is a year-round commitment, and members devote 10 to 15 hours a month to meetings, events, projects, and outreach.
“It brings me sincere joy to know that we are building the leaders of tomorrow,” said José Massó, Chief of Human Services. “These students are passionate about the issues facing our city and are dedicated to working with city departments to find creative solutions.”
MYC ambassadors form issue-based subcommittees designed by input from youth and are reflective of the overall structure of Mayor Wu’s Cabinet. The current committees include Arts & Culture, Community Engagement & Safety, Economic Opportunity & Inclusion, Education, Environment Energy & Open Space, Public Health, Urban Planning and Youth Lead the Change. Twenty-eight of the members are elected by their peers to serve as Directors and Liaisons to lead the Youth Council’s committees and neighborhood working groups.
“I am honored and thankful for this opportunity to spearhead change in my community,” said Esther Ajibola, 18, who is a senior at Boston Latin Academy and a Roslindale resident. Ajibola is beginning their third year on the Mayor’s Youth Council and is a co-leader of the Environment, Energy and Open Space Committee.
“It was really exciting to be at the swearing-in ceremony and see the Mayor, “ said Lucas Golding, a 15-year-old Jamaica Plain resident and sophomore who is new to the Council this year. “I’m on the Environment and Open Space Committee, and I think it’s really cool that we have an opportunity as youth to do something about problems that matter.”
In their Committees and Neighborhood Working Groups, ambassadors work to bridge the gap between the needs of young people in communities and resources available in the city with an array of projects. Historically, members of the MYC have worked on a variety of issues related to public safety, participatory budgeting, and civic engagement. Through the City’s $1 million per year Youth Lead the Change program, young people run a city-wide participatory budgeting process, and direct the implementation of winning projects. Recent projects include a “Future Media Center” in the BCYF Tobin Community Center, and the expansion of urban farms through the “Eat Local” project with GrowBoston. Currently, YLC Committee members are planning the implementation of last year’s three winning projects: “Addressing Youth Homelessness”, “Basketball Court Redesign” and “Heated Bus Stops with Charging.”