NEW: Download our summary report!
From September 20, 2010 to October 1, 2010, Young Involved Philadelphia (YIP) hosted its first annual State of Young Philly: Imagining Philly’s Future. Over the course of the two weeks, officially declared “State of Young Philly Weeks” by City Council, elected city officials, organizational leaders, and hundreds of citizens from around the city and region came together to imagine Philly’s future. But more than just a focus on what could be, the series of events engaged, educated and empowered those with ideas for bettering the city.
- ENGAGED. Young Philadelphians had the opportunity to engage with their peers, organizational leaders, and government representatives.
- EDUCATED. Young Philadelphians were exposed to new ideas and educated on key issues affecting the City.
- EMPOWERED. Young Philadelphians shared feedback on current practices, discussed innovative approaches, and helped imagine what was possible for Philadelphia’s future.
Throughout the events there was an unmistakable theme present– a theme that seemed to undergird all the ideas that poured forth. In short, there is an intense desire among young Philadelphians to make their city better and to be involved in the process that gets it there.
The FINDINGS page documents some of the ideas that surfaced throughout the events’ discussions. But these ideas only represent the starting point. To make progress a reality, the creative energy that facilitated Imagining Philly’s Future needs to be used to leverage change.
To that end, we have prepared an official State of Young Philly summary report. In the report we :
- Define the priorities that arose from the brainstorming events,
- Submit our plan for addressing these priorities through our event programming,
- Propose a vision for the future of Philadelphia.
Download the report, and join us this year as we strive to make Philadelphia (even more) awesome!