Getting young people involved - A message from Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder
As part of our update of the region's 50 year plan, what we call "Making the Greatest Place," Metro Councilors have been traveling around the region, talking with groups large and small, of all interests. Of all of these, perhaps the most interesting and challenging to me was my visit with the Multnomah Youth Commission. The Commission has about 40 members, ranging from middle school to young college students, representing the hundreds of thousands of young people in this region.
I went to talk with them because I thought them to be a forgotten constituency, especially when we are talking about a future that will be theirs to inherit. I know that I won't likely be here in 50 years but my children and grandchildren will.
Being over 50 means that I have lived two to three times as long as any of these young people. I have read a lot, traveled and met thousands of people of many cultures and places. But one thing that I have learned over the years is that I don't have all the answers, that everyone has a fresh perspective on what it means to live a good life. So, it was with some trepidation as well as with high hopes that I went that rainy night to Gresham Civic Center to talk with the Youth Commission.
My presentation covered the basics of the Metro Chief Operating Officer's recommendations Making hte Greatest Place, which includes protecting farmland by holding the urban growth boundary tight, investing in our existing communities, providing transportation choices and being accountable in all our actions. The young people dove right into the material, asking challenging questions such as, "What do you want us to do with this information?" and "If this plan doesn't solve global warming, why would you even consider adopting it?" and "If Metro is a ‘green agency' then why did you hand out so much paper tonight?" and, finally, "How do you communicate with the public and with youth in particular?"
The Commission members really wanted to know how they could stay involved with this and other issues that Metro deals with: recycling, natural area protection, and job creation, among others. I have pledged to work with them and the Metro Committee for Citizen Involvement to engage young people throughout the region, using the Youth Commissions in other communities as well as in Portland-Multnomah County, to identify the issues of concern to young people. If you have any suggestions on how I can further this pledge, feel free to send them my way.
All the best, Rex
