On Sunday, October 15, the Vanderbilt Child and Family Policy Center and the Tufts University Applied Developmental Science Institute of the Elliot-Pearson Department of Child Development hosted a special “Family ReUnion” gathering at Vanderbilt Law School entitled: Youth Engagement as a Strategy for Youth Development and Community Change. The cosponsors of this event included the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt Law School, the Peabody College Department of Human Organization and Development, the Oasis Center, the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, and the Vanderbilt Center for Health Policy.

This event brought together teams of youth from fifteen local youth councils, boards, and leadership groups with some local and national experts in the youth development field.  Through an interactive poster session, panel discussions and breakout sessions, participants gained an understanding of the  range of youth engagement activities in our community,  discussed common issues, shared some successes, identified some challenges, and explored opportunities for strengthening youth voice through coalition building among youth groups around issues of common interest/concern.  The discussion revolved around three themes: equity and justice; youth voice; and transition to adulthood. 

While the focus of the afternoon sessions was on the activities and concerns of teens and young adults, the evening session, entitled “Never Too Young:  Elementary School Student Engagement as a Strategy for Child Development and Community Change,”  featured a short film and discussion of Common Cents, a remarkable program that empowers elementary school age children to raise funds, research community needs, make grants to address those needs, and participate in service learning projects.  There was strong sentiment among the group that efforts should be made to develop a Common Cents program in Nashville . (To view the film on line and learn more about Common Cents, go to www.commoncents.org.