Friday, September, 20, 2024
Next week, on September 25, 2024, over 150 high school students from around Yolo County are set to attend the seventh annual Youth Empowerment Summit (YES!) at UC Davis.
The first two years of the summit took place at Woodland Community College and then virtually, before moving to UC Davis in 2022.
The Youth Empowerment Summit is a nationally recognized and award-winning program that consists of a day of civic engagement for youth that aims to empower and encourage them to say “YES!” to leadership roles and civic engagement in their local communities.
Students will receive hands-on experience in the democratic process and interface with local elected officials during round table discussions. The round table discussion topics are identified by local youth as topics the youth are interested and concerned about.
There are nearly 30 elected officials that are slated to attend – including city officials, school board members and Yolo County Board of Supervisors.
The day also includes a mock election, a presentation on local government, a tour of the UC Davis campus, swag and raffle prizes.
YES! educates youth about local government, the election process, and the importance of voting and civic engagement. In 2023 pre-/post-event surveys from YES! attendees indicated a 62% increase in understanding of how local government works, a 69% increase in understanding the role of elected officials in local government, and a 192% increase in feeling confident in contacting local elected officials about important issues.
YES! is a collaboration between the Yolo County Elections Office, Yolo County Office of Education, Yolo County School Districts, Yolo County Youth Civic Initiative, the Yolo Youth Commission, the City of Woodland Public Library’s Teen Advisory Board, the League of Women Voters (Woodland and Davis chapters), Yolo County Friday Night Live and the Yolo County Library.
In addition to the organizations involved in the Youth Empowerment Summit partnership, the event would not be possible without the support of amazing sponsors including the University of California – Davis, Nugget Markets, ProVote Solutions, HART InterCivic, Democracy Live, Evelyn & Walter Hass Jr. Fund, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, City of Davis, City of Woodland, City of West Sacramento, City of Winters and the League of Women Voters.
For more information on the event visit: www.yolosaysyes.com.
The Elections Office encourages residents to connect with Yolo County ACE – Assessor/Clerk-Recorder/Elections on Facebook: @YoloACE, Instagram: @YoloCoACE, Threads: @YoloCoACE, YouTube: @Yolo County ACE, TikTok: @yolocoace and X:@YoloCoACE to receive the most up to date information. The 2024 Election Administration Plan can be read at: Voter's Choice Act — Yolo County Elections Office (yoloelections.org).