Youth Designing the Future: How School PB Builds Agency, Voice, and Collective Wellbeing introduces participants to School Participatory Budgeting (SPB), a growing democratic innovation that empowers young people to shape the environments where they learn and thrive. In this interactive workshop, attendees will explore how SPB nurtures agency, belonging, and collective wellbeing by giving students real decision-making power over resources, policies, and school improvements.
Through hands-on activities and examples from Arizona schools and global SPB initiatives, participants will experience key elements of the SPB cycle—idea generation, deliberation, and collaborative design—and reflect on how youth-led decision-making supports care for self, others, and the planet. Whether you are an educator, student, researcher, or community partner, this session offers concrete strategies for bringing SPB into your learning community and cultivating more democratic, regenerative, and student-centered futures.
