Type:
NewsContact Marilee Scholl FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
707-853-2052
Email LWVSolano [at] gmail.com
Website LWVSolanoCounty.org
Website LWVSolanoCounty.org
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League of Women Voters Solano Teams up with Solano Youth Coalition
The League of Women Voters Solano County (LWVSC) has formed a partnership with Solano Youth Coalition (SYC) to encourage, engage and facilitate citizen participation in the democratic process. The goal of the partnership is to provide hands-on civics learning opportunities to student members of SYC, a Solano County Office of Education youth group that strives to raise awareness by advocating safe and healthy choices through student-led open conversations, participation, and collaboration.
On Saturday, February 26, along with Suisun City Mayor Lori Wilson, Vice Mayor Alma Hernandez, City Manager Greg Folsom, and Youth Coordinator Carmen Perry, SYC student members participated in a "mock" city council meeting at Suisun City Hall to familiarize them with their right as citizens to attend local government and agency meetings in a civil, productive manner. This League Observer Corps training—a structured way to learn about and address local issues—is part of the League's commitment to open government and civic engagement.
"Too many people are ignorant as to how government works, especially what they must do to make it work,†says Alice Fried, LWVSC Youth Coordinator. “Studies have shown that hands-on civics learning activities are a missing link in the American education process. The SYC-LWVSC partnership will provide activities like Observer Corps training to prepare them to be productive citizens, with a community mindset that respects human dignity. Such preparation and commitment will protect and sustain democracy.â€
Using a past agenda from an actual Suisun City Council meeting, Solano officeholders Michael Silva, Nolan Sullivan and Jeanette Wiley of the Vacaville City Council, Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District Board member Ana Petero and Solano County Superintendent of Schools Estrella-Henderson also participated in giving the students a memorable learning experience.
Councilwoman Wylie is encouraged by the enthusiastic reaction of the students to the training. "Hopefully, Observer Corps trainings and reporting on local government meetings will encourage students and members of the public to attend regular meetings of local councils and boards," says Councilwoman Wylie. “These meetings are all public, and they need input from local residents."
"It got me thinking about possibilities for the future and about community involvement," said SYC trainee Hadiya Muhaimin. See photo.
Another SYC student member, Christopher Knight, also a member of the Fairfield City Council Youth Commission, said he enjoyed the experience: "It was fun to see how it works first-hand," he remembers. See photo.
This LWVSC/SYC training collaboration establishes the first Solano League Observer Corps, and the SYC members who attended the mock Suisun City Council Meeting are LWVSC's first "allies" in this effort: citizens and future voters willing to show up and learn how Solano County school boards, city councils, county supervisors and regulatory agencies do their jobs.
Membership in the Solano League's Observer Corps, designed to improve the flow of nonpartisan information both to and from local government about community issues and policy decisions, is open to all LWVSC members. Members of the public are also welcome to join the Solano League and participate in future Observer Corps training.
To learn more, visit the Observer Corps page on the LWVSC website at https://my.lwv.org/california/solano-county, or email us at: LWVSolano [at] gmail.com Att: Observer Corps.
Other Upcoming LWVSC/SYC Trainings and Student-led Activities:
On April 27, SYC student members will conduct a “State of Solano Education Forum†utilizing trademark League “fairness†procedures for planning and conducting nonpartisan forums. They’ve invited Solano school superintendents and board members to participate. Following a March 23rd thorough plan-and-conduct League forum training, SYC members considered the roles they want to play at the forum. See photo.
SYC student Aruushi Kaur says she appreciates these training opportunities, and her contact with the League has been "enriching. This has taught me so much," she said, during a break during the forum training. See photo.
On May 4, LWVSC and John Gardner, Assistant Solano County Registrar of Voters, will provide hands-on voter registration training for SYC students, as well as information on the Solano County Adopt-A-Poll program.
SYC is an outgrowth of Friday Night Live, a student organization that works to engage youth as active leaders and as partners in their communities. Members of SYC are selected by the Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) from applicants across Solano County. "We choose SYC members in the fall of each academic year," Johanna Nowak-Palmer, SCOE's Youth Development Program Manager, explains. "They're motivated, curious students, eager for new experiences. Training SYC members for the LWVSC Observer Corps and on how to conduct a forum are great opportunities for them to engage with local government."
For more information about the League, its partnerships and programs, contact us at lwvsolano [at] gmail.com or visit our website at http://lwvsolanocounty.org/
Aruushi Kaur, SYC member, LWVSC Observer Corps trainee &
"Vice-Mayor" at the LWVSC/SYC Mock City Council Meeting on March 26, 2022
Christopher Knight, SYC member,
LWVSC Observer Corps trainee
& Fairfield City Council Youth Commissioner
Hadiya Muhaimin, SYC member and
LWVSC Observer Corps trainee
Alice Fried, Youth Coordinator for LWVSC, describes forum planning at 3/23/22 SYC meeting
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League of Women Voters of Solano County was first founded in Benicia in 2004 and in 2020 expanded to all of Solano County. Our membership includes over 130 members from Benicia, Cordelia, Dixon, Fairfield, Vallejo, Vacaville, Suisun City, and Rio Vista, reflecting the diversity of Solano County. You can contact us at lwvsolano [at] gmail.com or visit our website at http://lwvsolanocounty.org/
The National League of Women Voters was founded in 1920 and is a non-partisan organization of women and men that is community-based and organized at local, state, and national levels. Our mission is to promote political responsibility through the informed and active participation of citizens in governance and to act on selected and studied common-good governmental issues and policies.
League to which this content belongs:
Solano County
