Voices of Youth Speech Anthology Film

Debate to Educate is asking youth across the globe to answer one simple question- “If I could tell the world one thing, and everyone would have to believe me, what would I say?”

To answer this question, we ask participants to explore their meaningful, honest and personal thoughts that they wish the world could understand. If you are looking for a chance to be heard, this is it.

The ultimate goal of the project is to counteract the idiom “children should be seen and not heard”. Across the world, youth are pressured to passively accept what they are told, and this lesson can stifle their potential permanently. “Voices of Youth” reverses this by centering the narrative around the insight of kids and teens. Through projects like this, we believe we can slowly build for a more open and democratic discourse for the next generation.

The project is global in nature for the purpose of increasing insight, empathy, and understanding. Debate to Educate has been a global platform since its inception. Our debate community is designed this way because cross cultural experiences, particularly early in life, create or more dynamic, educated, and open minded youth. For “Voices of Youth”, this allows the world to see each other through the experiences of children. It also serves to capture a moment in history from as many angles as possible.

Our prompt, “If I could tell the world one thing, and everyone would have to believe me, what would I say?” is designed to be open ended, and to place youth directly in the center of narrative creation. We want to hear whatever they feel is most important to express.

Use this form to register for Debate to Educate’s Voices of Youth Speech Anthology film and competition. Entries will be selected from our submissions and made into a feature-length movie, to be screened to a live audience in a San Francisco theater! (estimated screening date in 2025). The film will also be made available for viewing on our Youtube channel and website. The top 3 submissions will receive special honor, acclaim, and spotlight features in our screening.

All participants must be under the age of 18, and videos must be 3 to 8 minutes in length. We can make accommodations to increase accessibility, should you request it. Submissions must be made in video form, with the speaker clearly visible and audible. Instructions on how to submit your video will be emailed upon reception of this registration form.

Please contact debatetoeducate@gmail.com directly if you have any additional accommodations needed to make this experience an accessible and rewarding experience for you. We also welcome submissions on behalf of schools and nonprofits, and are happy to list your organization upon your request. This is a great opportunity for your organization to showcase the good work that you do to help elevate your communities! Video submissions must be sent by December 31st, 2024 to be featured in our film.

Producing a “Voices of Youth” trailer will greatly help in promoting our event and extending our reach, as well as reaching funders and press coverage that could dramatically increase the effectiveness of our project! Your early submission will make a huge difference in launching “Voices of Youth” across the globe! To be included in our trailer, please submit your video before November 1st, 2024.