The Youth Voice Awards is an annual celebration of youth-led projects selected for funding by our Brooklyn Youth Fellows. On Friday, June 2nd, Fellows honored the eight winning projects submitted by young people in partnership with local nonprofits, at an event filled with performances, a professional photo-booth, delicious local food, and lots of fun.

The Youth Voice Awards is all about elevating the powerful voices of our youth: we believe they have the solutions we are looking for and we want to support their work through grants! In the program's second year, Fellows awarded $15,000 to youth-led projects across Brooklyn.

Back in March, Fellows also hosted their first-ever youth-led conference, Youth Resist 2017. It was there that they facilitated workshops around key justice issues of the day, and encouraged participants to develop their own solutions for their communities. Many projects submitted for this year's Youth Voice Awards came directly from ideas generated that day.

Fellows determined their own selection criteria for the Awards, including outlining seven "justice pillars" for projects to address, as well as prioritizing projects that help young people deepen historical and cultural understanding of their experiences and community issues and those that have a neighborhood-based and community-driven approach. The Fellows received nearly 20 applications, and from those they selected eight, to be funded with grants up to $3000. 

Please help us congratulate this year's winners, who will be undertaking their projects starting this summer:

• KELCY HERCULES for “BLOSSOM, BE YOU!” with Crown Heights Mediation Center: A 10-week summer program for young women focused on self-love and sisterhood
   
• JESSENIA GUAPISACA AND JAZMIN PEREZ for “WALL OF HOPE: Tu vales, You can!” with Atlas DIY: A 5-week political education program for immigrant and undocumented youth
   
• SUSAN OBATOLA, TONI-ANN ADRIAN, JADA ATHERLEY, BREANNA TONEY, ZENZELE FRANKLIN, and SYDNI SNAGGS for “NO EYE CANDY” with YWCA: An interactive and inclusive community discussion on street harassment
   
• NYIESHA MALLETT for “REAL ROOTS” with UPROSE: Youth-led workshops on natural skincare and beauty that incorporates indigenous teachings
   
• LOREN CAHILL for “HEALING JUSTICE MOVEMENT” with H.O.L.L.A: A 5-borough tour starting in Brooklyn featuring youth-led trainings and workshops that focus on healing injustice, oppression, and violence
   
• ESRAA SALEH​ for “NORTH AFRICAN RADICAL EDUCATION PROJECT” with YWCA: Workshops for Arab/North African youth focusing on embracing their identities and understanding their connectedness to the Movement for Black Lives
   
• SHAHANA ABDIN for “OUR VOICE - Bangladeshi in Brooklyn” with Bangladeshi American Community Development & Youth Services: Production of a video that features young Bangladeshi women navigating their cultural identities and agency
   
• OLUWADEMILADE OGUNLADE, XAVIER PHIFER, MELANIE GARO for “PROJECT LOVE” with Osborne Foundation: Workshops and peer support groups for young people with incarcerated parents

And please help us congratulate our 2016-17 Brooklyn Youth Fellows on being outstanding youth grantmakers!

• Shafrarisi Bonner
• Daniel-Joseph Cyan
• Alexander Davis
• Raquan Graham
• Vidal Guzman
• Ray-Ana Hill
• Alanis Lantigua
• Rachie Lipkind
• Marline NkouNkou
• Gabriela Ponce
• Nirmeen Shumman
• Peace Titilawo