The Gem Project Fellowship, a paid civic leadership program for young people ages 16 to 24, grew out of early youth advocacy and organizing led by founder Amanda Ebokosia during her time as a sophomore at Rutgers University–Newark.
Motivated by a family health crisis, Ebokosia launched a national awareness campaign that quickly expanded into a volunteer-supported traveling exhibit. The exhibit moved across college campuses, creating space for young people to share lived experiences, raise awareness, and take collective action around issues impacting their communities.
As more youth participants stepped into leadership roles and pushed for deeper involvement, the work evolved into what is now The Gem Project Fellowship, a formal civic leadership program grounded in youth agency, storytelling, and grassroots organizing.
Photo provided by Gemproject.org
Pictured here in 2012, The Gem Project Founder Amanda Ebokosia teaching at North Star Academy, introducing students to leadership styles, entrepreneurship, and early pathways to funding for young people.
Training and Skill Development
Fellows in The Gem Project receive hands-on training in essential civic engagement and organizing skills. Participants learn canvassing, public narrative, negotiation, and power mapping. They facilitate focus groups, lead youth participatory action research, write policy and issue briefs, design accountability tools, and organize public events.
Fellows also gain a deeper understanding of how government systems function and how to influence them effectively. Through direct engagement, young people see how their voices can shape public decisions and impact thousands of lives.
A Long Term Vision for Youth Power
The Gem Project’s vision is long-term and systemic. The organization works to ensure youth voices are embedded in public decision-making, not as a one-time consultation but as a permanent part of how policies and systems are designed. The goal is to build institutions that are more responsive to young people because youth helped shape them from the beginning.
How Youth Can Get Involved
Young people can apply to join The Gem Project Fellowship, volunteer with the organization, or participate in trainings and public actions. Youth may also join Youth Power Action, an online organizing hub and youth-led coalition created for young people who want to learn, collaborate, and organize collectively.
Youth Power Action is convened by The Gem Project and supported by more than a dozen youth programs and nonprofit organizations across Newark and neighboring communities.
Youth Power Action aims to serve
The launch of Youth Power Action comes at a pivotal time for civic engagement in Newark. Recent changes to local voting laws now allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections, expanding civic rights for students across the city.
Youth Power Action aims to serve as a central resource for Newark students who want to engage civically. Planned offerings include an Activism 101 video course, live chat strategy sessions, and youth-led event planning workshops. As students gain new civic rights, access to education, organizing tools, and trusted spaces will be essential to turning engagement into meaningful participation at the polls.
Accountability Through Youth Leadership
One of Youth Power Action’s key tools is the Youth-Led Accountability Scorecard, or YLAS. The scorecard establishes a civic feedback loop where students and district leaders work together to identify, research, and address issues affecting student wellbeing and school quality. The process includes identifying problems, developing data-informed solutions, creating youth-led policy recommendations, and tracking progress through a public-facing scorecard.
This youth-driven accountability tool has the potential to be transformative, not only for candidates seeking the youth vote, but for leaders committed to shaping education policy with and for students.
Get Involved
Newark Public Schools students interested in joining Youth Power Action and becoming civically engaged can learn more and sign up at youthpoweraction.com.
By Khalid Didier
