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Advocacy— it’s standing up for things you believe in and influencing the decisions that affect you and your friends and family’s lives every day. We recorded this episode right in the middle of the 2018 election season, so advocacy was at the top of our minds! This made for a great conversation with our guest— Girl Scouts River Valleys’ Capacity Building Director and resident guru of all things girl advocacy, Liana Michelfelder-Tessum, about how political decisions affect girls and how they can make sure their voices are heard. Liana has all kinds of great tips for how girls and youth can get involved in politics and be change-makers in their communities.
When you hear political advocacy you might think of big stuff, like governor or president level, but you can advocate for change at local levels too. We’ll talk about how important it is to speak up for things in your community like public transportation, safety, parking, schools and education, and other causes you believe in.
We’ll also get into how stressful and frustrating it can be to try to take in and process everything we see in the news and on social media, and how we can unplug, be mindful, and re-charge when we get overwhelmed by all the information and opinions swirling around.
Our big takeaways— Educate yourself! Get involved! Take time to reflect on how you really feel and what issues are most important to you. We learned from Liana that change is often small and incremental, and with girls’ voices at the table we can make a difference. Remember, decisions can’t be made about you without you.
As always, stay tuned at the end for Would You Rather and Girls Pick!
For more about advocacy and how you can be a catalyst for change, visit www.girlscoutsrv.org/advocate.
Here are links to some great youth advocacy organizations mentioned in the show:
The Minnesota Alliance with Youth- Minnesota Youth Council
The National Youth Leadership Council- Youth Advisory Council
Saint Paul Public Schools Student Engagement and Advancement board
