December 24, 2024

Gina Crivelli

Empowering Youth: Reshaping Leadership and Breaking Barriers

Authored by Gina Crivelli, Director of Programs & Impact

I was seventeen when my half-brother was born, and with such a large age gap, it’s often been difficult for us to truly understand each other or find common ground. But as we’ve both grown, our conversations have become deeper and more meaningful. He spoke about how frustrating it is when people resist new ideas and challenge the questioning of long-standing traditions within institutions. He also shared how bothersome it is when people assume that being young automatically means lacking experience or an unwillingness to learn. To me, his words were simple, yet profoundly powerful. Learning and adaptability are essential to growth, yet too often we exclude those who have so much to teach us from the conversation.

Growing up, I remember similar feelings of the overwhelming frustration of feeling helpless, powerless. I moved often until I was twelve and all I longed for was to be heard and to belong. I hold dear the memories of the adults in my life who truly saw me during this period– they saw me not just as another inexperienced youth, but as an individual. They listened, they guided, and they opened doors of opportunity, forever changing the course of my journey.

Now as an adult, and especially in my role at Libra Philanthropies, I find myself surrounded by extraordinary young adults who inspire me daily. Julieta, Olusola, Siddhi, Deneisha, Omri, Yuna- these are all names of some of the incredible young leaders I have met over the past couple of years as we have amplified our programming to give opportunity and voice to young changemakers. Alongside the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit, we hosted our first Learning Lab, a new programming activity where we aim to bring together organizations or their beneficiaries for a learning discussion focused on targeted topics.

This first endeavor was entitled: Empowering Youth: Breaking Barriers to Leadership In Civil Society. The main purpose was to address that this theme is not merely about offering them a seat at the table; it is about reshaping the very structure of that table. We wanted to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion within youth leadership and explore how to promote and support diverse leadership. For many of the young participants, this was their first opportunity to be heard.

Julieta, a young Colombian transgender woman and a student of Journalism, is the founder of Delindas Haus, a collective that develops artistic and political participation processes within the LGBTIQ+ community. She is a fellow in the Dreamers & Makers program of the Innovation for Development Foundation, which accelerates young social innovators to drive impactful changes in their communities. During the discussion, she stated:

“Representation matters. To change the way we're doing things, we must include younger generations. Every day, we're told, 'When you grow up, you'll make a difference,' but we're already making a difference. You can't create solutions for young people without young people.”

Brooklyn native, Michael, marketing and psychology major at the City University of New York is the Director of the My Brother’s Keeper Mentoring Program at Inspiring Minds NYC where he leads a student-organized mentoring initiative supporting boys and young men of color.

"When I visit schools and ask kids what they want to be, I see teachers correcting them. There are so many issues that need to be addressed.”

Throughout the dialogue, several key themes emerged. Young people often feel underrepresented, with their voices overlooked despite having much to contribute. Without their involvement, solutions risk being disconnected from reality and ineffective. Many already make meaningful contributions to their communities but face barriers to participation. By creating spaces that amplify their voices and address pressing issues, we can foster a culture of openness.

At Libra Philanthropies, we learn from the leaders of organizations and their beneficiaries who are directly engaged with the communities on the ground. These are the true experts—they are the ones who feel the pulse of the issues and understand the challenges firsthand. So why, then, do we resist giving youth a voice and a seat at the table when it comes to decision-making? Why do we believe that adults always know better, simply because we’ve been through it all before?

The truth is, every person’s lived experience is unique. I see so much resistance to change, and as a young girl, I too, was scared to embrace it with each move to a new environment. But it also allowed me to look back in hindsight and realize that in reality, embracing fresh perspectives is the very key to evolving and improving.

I’ve met countless young people who have faced unimaginable hardships. Age and life experience are relative—there is no one-size-fits-all. Olusola, a young man from Nigeria who founded Project Enable Africa, stated:

"Freedom is not given; it is taken. Young people have incredible visions, and we can achieve great things only through transgenerational partnership.”

We are only as strong as the diverse voices and perspectives we bring to the table, and by amplifying youth voices, we not only enrich the conversation, but we create more powerful solutions that lead to better outcomes for everyone.

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