Everything that we do stems from our annual event: the New York City Youth Congress. This event takes place each Spring and it sets FVA's agenda for the year.

The Congress is run by youth. Every decision made is adult-free. The effectiveness of the Congress is a testament to the leadership capabilities of our Youth Steering Committee, which trains for several months before the Congress and prepares issue sheets, outreaches in their schools, and coordinates the logistics of the Congress.

From the Congress emerge issues detrimental to the city that youth wish to resolve. These issues are drafted into Resolutions, which are the cornerstone for FVA's agenda each year.

There are several projects at the forefront of FVA today:

• Our staple: The New York City Youth Congress.
• Campaign to Lower the Voting Age in New York City's municipal elections.
• Campaign to Level the Playing Field: To introduce more post-graduation options to high school students.
• Future Voters Clubs popping up in high schools throughout New York City.
• Pilot Youth Court opening in South Jamaica, Queens.
• Pilot Future Voters Curriculum being taught in Social Studies classes.
• Future Voters Newsletter written by young people, for young people.

Our program also includes:

1. Workshops for young people on Public Speaking and Involvement in City Politics.
2. Workshops for teachers and principals on Civically Engaging Our Youth.
3. FVA-hosted debates with candidates for City Council and State Assembly that focus on youth-centered issues.

For more information about how to be involved in any of the above projects, whether as a student, intern, teacher, principal or elected official, visit our Get Involved page!

The majority of our success as a youth advocacy organization has been our innovative model. We involve our young leaders in every important decision that we make. In order to learn more about how we operate, take a look Our Methodology.