The Misled Youth Network was started by two NYC teens in early 2004. Since then, we have worked with a number of people and organizations, though our core group remains small. Currently we have three active volunteers.
We chose the word "misled" as a statement on how adults in society often label non-traditional actions and lifestyles of younger generations as "misled". We are reclaiming the word to express our belief in many ways of thinking and doing, instead of only one.
Our small collective has taken on a number of projects including: creating a publication, starting a book project, organizing the LiveWire Festival (a two day event featuring music and workshops), working on projects with a group of high school students this past summer, silkscreening t-shirts, and more. Here are some pictures of the LiveWire Festival.
Currently, building this website is our main focus.
We’ve decided that focusing on creating this website is the best strategy for Misled Youth. This website will be a lasting space for our community, activities, and content. It will give more stability to the Misled Youth Network – if a physical group stops meeting temporarily, the entire project won’t be put on hold. We can refer people to our site when we are doing outreach and spreading the word. An online space allows us to connect with people outside of NYC much more easily, and also to connect to online resources. We hope that this website will serve as a strong foundation for our collective aspirations.
These are the goals of our website:
Online Community
-- To build community amongst youth who aren’t satisfied
with their existing education, social roles/expectations
-- To consist of youth with diverse backgrounds, identities, interests and locations
-- To create an environment of respect and personal development
-- To utilize the channels of pre-existing youth cultures
Learning and Getting Involved
-- To encourage the development of collaborative projects that bring young people together and generate youth-created knowledge
-- To promote independent and community-based education
-- To provide an outlet for creative expression
-- To facilitate youth involvement in various form of activism
Website Development
-- To be created, developed, and expanded by young people
Accessibility
-- To be user friendly, accessible, and useful even to those without much Internet access
Graphic Design
To be visually unique, creative, and appealing
Well, we want to achieve all the goals we just described both online and in the real world. We want to organize tons of events like open mics, art shows, workshops, and parties, publish zines and books, make lots of friends, get involved in causes, make street art, start our own radical graphic design company, and maybe even get paid.
We sure can. We have a very nice looking Info Packet that we'll send you for free! Just send a request with you mailing address.
We have a whole page that will answer that question.
We are a youth-led organization, and we want everyone involved to have leadership and decision-making power. However, we haven't defined a particular age as a "cut-off line". It's up to you as an individual to decide your level of participation based on your age, interests, and other factors. We welcome feedback and support from people of all ages. Our only concern is preventing this project from being dominated from people who think they "know better".