In 2020 we’re zooming in on the relationship between media and election participation among young people. This new project is an intersection of three fundamental goals of our work:

Diverse Representation : In our representative democracy, the electorate should be as diverse as the country itself. We must find more ways to improve diverse youth representation in our democracy and the issues of access to information that hinder youth participation.

: In our representative democracy, the electorate should be as diverse as the country itself. We must find more ways to improve diverse youth representation in our democracy and the issues of access to information that hinder youth participation. Media as a Civic Influencer : Exposure to and engagement with media helps to build one's own perspectives and understanding of our roles in democracy. Efforts to teach media literacy for elections must include this explicit connection, and media coverage of youth can and should more accurately represent young people’s participation and their experiences. How can many local stakeholders support positive civic influences through a local election ecosystem that includes visible, diverse young people in media?

: Exposure to and engagement with media helps to build one's own perspectives and understanding of our roles in democracy. Efforts to teach media literacy for elections must include this explicit connection, and media coverage of youth can and should more accurately represent young people’s participation and their experiences. How can many local stakeholders support positive civic influences through a local election ecosystem that includes visible, diverse young people in media? Growing Voters: Making sure we start this work early enables us to Grow Voters and active community members, preparing young people for participation even before they reach voting age.

This project is called Rep Us, because representation is key to democracy and representation matters to engagement. As a result, throughout 2020 and into 2021, we will undertake collaborative inquiry with a wide range of partners, catalyzing conversations and encouraging both youth media creation and inclusion of diverse youth voices in conversations about the 2020 election. Some of the questions we are pursuing include: How can youth media engagement and media creation expand the youth electorate? How can more diverse representations of youth engagement in elections within media affect youth engagement? Can it also influence the audiences for local media outlets?