Danville Student Launches Youth Civic Education Effort

DANVILLE, CA — Monte Vista High School student Zara Lake is aiming to expand knowledge of the world all over the world.

After researching political literacy rates among American youth, Lake wondered about the situation in developing countries. This led her to found the Political Literacy Branch for World Learning, which describes as a collaboration with the international nonprofit World Learning.

According to Lake, the project began with a focus in Algeria, where she had been studying governance structures. She connected with local students and teachers, who told her that they didn’t have adequate access to curricula about political rights and structures.

“Algeria has elections and formal democratic frameworks, but there’s a gap between an electorate having rights and feeling empowered to exercise them,” she said. “That’s what our workshops aim to address. We help young people understand not only what their rights are, but how to use them meaningfully and responsibly.”

Lake said she helped developed material blending civic education topics like government structures and constitutional rights with media literacy and community engagement. The curriculum includes interactive elements like mock elections and student-led projects.

“I wanted it to be alive, not theoretical. So when a student leaves a session, they don’t just know what their parliament is. Instead, they understand why it matters to their life and how to be part of it.”

She's hoping to work with youth in Uganda, whom she says have expressed the need to learn more about how to get involved in their communities.

“When I started speaking with community organizers in Kampala, they emphasized how many students wanted to contribute to change but had no idea how,” she said. “That struck me, as I wanted to bring that sense of belonging to youth who’ve felt excluded from public decision-making since adults in the city wished they had had the same as children.”

Lake said she hopes to continue growing the initiative with help from volunteers, who can help create lessons, coordinate outreach, translate material, or lead mock elections and action projects.

“I want every volunteer to feel like they’re part of a living movement,” she said. “Culturally, what civic empowerment means in one country might mean something totally different in another as well. That’s why I’ve learned to listen more than I speak, as for our program, local voices guide everything we do.”

SEE ALSO:

• Danville Student Organizes Youth Public Forum
• Danville Student Creates NeuroGuidance, International Organization For Neurodiversity Education & Awareness