Smithsonian Hosts National Youth Summit on Elections and Politics

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will host its 11th annual National Youth Summit Sept. 17–24 under the title “Elections & Politics.” This year’s online program will offer prerecorded and live-streamed programs alongside a set of prepackaged materials to allow middle and high school students across the country to examine the role of young people engaging in political action. Registration is now open at the museum’s website.

The National Youth Summit will feature talks and discussions with scholars, historians and activists. The schedule will include discussions featuring notable speakers, including Kahlil Greene, known as the “Gen-Z Historian”; Caroline Kilbanoff, executive director of Made By Us; Alex Edgar, youth engagement manager of the Made By Us Youth 250 Project; Jahnavi Rao, president and founder of New Voters Research Network; and Syndey Fahn, co-founder and deputy director of the New Voters Research Network.
Anchored by a historical narrative addressing how young people participate in elections with and without the vote, the 2024 National Youth Summit will examine pathways to civic engagement and how people debate contested matters of values and principles in the political arena. Guided by history, the summit will provide a platform for teens nationwide to discuss the enduring question, “How can young people engage in political action and influence elections?”

Creating a new model, this year’s Youth Summit is the first time the program has been created specifically for teens, by teens. Educators from the National Museum of American History worked with four Smithsonian Affiliate museums to recruit 12 high school students (ages 14–18) to serve on a Youth Leadership Team to support planning this year’s programming. Throughout the 2023–2024 school year, the Youth Leadership Team held virtual meetings to choose this year’s topic and create educational resources. The museum worked with the following Smithsonian Affiliates: the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan; The Rockwell Museum in Corning, New York; the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles; and the International Museum of Art & Science in McAllen, Texas.

Several Smithsonian Affiliate museums will host online Regional Summits, providing virtual viewing parties and adding their own programming for students in their local communities. Teachers are also encouraged to facilitate their own local “youth summits” anytime between Sept. 17 and 24, using learning resources and videos provided free to all registered educators. 
 
The National Youth Summit series was designed by the National Museum of American History to provide students with an opportunity to share their views and debate issues as part of a program that aligns with the National History Standards and Common Core Standards for Speaking and Listening. Since the program was launched in 2011, the museum has created vigorous programing with detailed curricula, websites and outreach opportunities for students and teachers across the nation through which the National Youth Summit has engaged more than 70,000 live viewers and many more through the archived programs. 

The National Youth Summit is made possible by the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation and the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation K–12 Learning Endowment. The summit’s Youth Leadership Team is supported by Youth Access Grant funds from the Smithsonian’s Together We Thrive initiative and is part of a larger Smithsonian initiative focused on civic engagement intended to help Americans understand the past in order to make sense of the present and shape a more informed future. 

ABOUT THE MUSEUM
Through incomparable collections, rigorous research and dynamic public outreach, the National Museum of American History seeks to empower people to create a more just and compassionate future by examining, preserving and sharing the complexity of our past. The museum, located on Constitution Avenue N.W., between 12th and 14th streets, is open daily except Dec. 25 between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. The doors of the museum are always open online and the virtual museum continues to expand its offerings, including online exhibitions, K–12 educational materials and programs. The public can follow the museum on social media via Instagram and Facebook. For more information, go to https://americanhistory.si.edu. For Smithsonian information, the public may call (202) 633-1000.

About Smithsonian Affiliations
Established in 1996, Smithsonian Affiliations is a national outreach program that develops long-term collaborative partnerships with museums, educational, and cultural organizations to enrich communities with Smithsonian resources. The long-term goal of Smithsonian Affiliations is to facilitate a two-way relationship among Affiliate organizations and the Smithsonian Institution to increase discovery and inspire lifelong learning in communities across America. More information about the Smithsonian Affiliations program and Affiliate activity is available on the Affiliations’ website.

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