GeorgiaForward recently released two guides to help cities connect young people with civic life as part of the America250 celebration. In this Q&A, GeorgiaForward Managing Director Sadie Krawczyk talks about what's in the guides and how cities can put them to use.
GeorgiaForward just released two guides, one for Youth Councils and one for the Mayor's Reading Club. Both focused on civic literacy. What's in them?
We have created these guides to support municipalities as they celebrate America's 250th birthday, specifically to help them engage with and include young people. The Youth Council guide includes project planning templates, conversation starters, and sample meeting agendas. The Mayor's Reading Club guide offers event planning worksheets, sample agendas for different types of programs, and a recommended book list.
Why did Georgia Forward connect literacy and reading to civic engagement, rather than treating them as separate issues?
All learning builds on the foundation of literacy. To meaningfully participate in local government and civic life, citizens need to be able to read, understand, and navigate the systems and written communication that enable engagement. And in Georgia, this is a real challenge as 62% of third graders read below grade level, and 1 in 10 adults have low literacy skills. Starting with young students and teenagers not only helps prepare them for their future, it can also impact their broader families, helping them all find their place in local decision-making.
A city official picks up one of these guides. What's the first step toward putting it to use?
I would start by looking through it and taking note of any ideas that resonate. Then, get the conversation started with key partners. Local officials can be the initiating and convening voice for planning these activities. We hope you'll use the guides as a catalyst to organize something special in 2026 for your city.
The guides mention that cities don't have to start from scratch. They can build on existing events and partnerships. What does that look like in practice?
If you have Mayor's Reading Club activities already planned for the year, be intentional about integrating civic literacy into those plans by featuring one of the books on the suggested book list. If you have a youth council, the next time they meet, ask to join the meeting, and work through the planning template in the guide to brainstorm and help them put together a local event for the community at large.
There are many ways to customize the suggestions in these guides to your specific context. And if you need any help, our GeorgiaForward team would be happy to assist you.
As Georgia marks America's 250th birthday, what opportunity do these guides represent for cities that want to invest in the next generation?
Moments like this don't come around often, and they give us a chance to think about what we want civic life to look like for the next generation. Hopefully the guides will inspire you to engage in new ways with young people, building leadership capacity not only for your city, but for Georgia as a whole.