Project 2059

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Oregon 150’s “Activate Oregon” to continue under
OSU 4-H Youth Development Program!

 
Oregon 150 is pleased to annouce that Oregon State University has been chosen to continue the visioning and community action program initiated in 2009 by Oregon teens through “Project 2059: Activate Oregon.” The annoucement was made Thursday September 24, 2009 (read the press release). In upcoming weeks, Oregon 4-H will begin the process of assembling a leadership team for the project and begin planning for a second “Activate Oregon” leadership summit in 2010. 4-H personnel located across the state of Oregon will engage with existing youth leadership groups and 4-H clubs to catalyze local actions focused on education, the economy, and the environment.

To find out more about the future plans for Project 2059 visit www.project2059.com or contact Oregon 4-H at 541-737-2421.

Project Overview & Resources

 
The Youth Engagement Module is to be utilized as a framework for future efforts of similar scope, highlighting key goals, program formation and language, project team assembly and roles, message development and outreach, event planning, work share and outcome evaluation through narrated process points and descriptions specific to “Activate Oregon.”

The Youth Took Kit is meant to act as a resource guide for aspiring organizers and change agents. It is a compilation of existing reference writings in and around youth leadership development, new media literacy, and grassroots organizing aimed at increasing youth engagement and civic participation through awareness. The exercises, models, excerpts, and hyperlinks should provide the budding change agent with enough referential tools to plan and execute a relevant action plan.


PHASE I: Discovery


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The goal of Project 2059 was to create a place for youth to come together, plan for, and discuss important issues relevant to Oregon’s next 50 years. To initiate this process, Project 2059 and Voice Box Media organized a the statewide road trip, visiting 43 Oregon high schools and interviewing more than 170 students about public issues important to them and the actions that should be taken by 2059. You can watch those interviews on Oregon 150’s YouTube page, here.

After conducting statewide interviews with high school students, it became evident that the three issues teens discussed the most were education, the economy and the environment, providing captivating responses and first-hand examples to illustrate their concerns for Oregon’s future.


PHASE 2: Activate Oregon Youth Summit

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The next step in prompting Oregon’s youth to continue conversations about issues important to them was to create an actual venue to facilitate regular interactions. Given the prominent role technology and the Internet play in the lives of today’s teens, Oregon 150 developed the Project 2059 online social network. Once the network was up and running, a call to youth went out, asking them to submit their visions for Oregon in written, video, song or image form.

These vision statements, in conjunction with an online survey of Oregon teens, expressed the youths’ hopes for Oregon’s future and helped shape “Activate Oregon’s” two-day program.. Speakers and panelists from Oregon’s economy, education and environmental sectors presented during the two-day summit, engaging with Oregon’s future business and political leaders regarding important, statewide actions on which to focus for the next 50 years.

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The “Activate Oregon” summit ended with teens presenting their group action plans to Governor Ted Kulongoski and State Superintendent of Schools Susan Castillo. Videos of these presentations can be seen here.Please take a moment and visit www.Project2059.com to watch footage from the summit and join in the conversations teens continue to have regarding the future of the state they know and love.

If you have any questions, please e-mail project2059@oregon150.org, or call the Oregon 150 office at 503.445.7120.

Oregon 150, DemocracyLab and the Chalkboard Project have teamed up to create an online think tank. Through your participation, DemocracyLab can harness the thinking of Oregonians from all corners of our state to collaboratively create a vision of Oregon’s future. Ready to get started? Click on DemocracyLab’s link below.

Ready to have your voice heard? Join Project 2059 today!

All information received by Oregon 150 shall be treated as confidential and will not be disclosed/shared with any individual or organization for purposes other than those agreed to by participants in Project 2059. Oregon 150 does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, creed, age, class, national origin, ancestry, marital/parental status, sexual orientation, or disability. Oregon 150 reserves the right to select youth regional representatives and their vision plans to participate in a two-day event at Willamette University in Salem on August 7th-8th, 2009.

Sponsors

Consider joining our proud sponsors and take care of Oregon during its sesquicentennial.

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The Collins Foundation
The Autzen Foundation
OPUS
Oregon Comunity Foundation
Willamette University