In the wake of the election, the Young Forwardists are committed to keeping all elected officials in check. Through our campus chapters, the Young Forwardists will organize students to monitor the behavior of local officials, survey public opinion, and democratically organize to ensure our politicians are true to the needs of their community. Sign up to join the movement. ➡️

Welcome to the Young Forwardists! We are dedicated to engaging, mobilizing, and empowering young individuals across the nation. Our goal is to create a network of informed, engaged, and empowered young individuals who are ready to lead and enact positive change in their communities.

Our Mission: The purpose of the Forward Party’s Young Forwardists Committee is to provide politically invested youth with political opportunity, the Forward Process, and empowerment. We believe that modern politics are dysfunctional, but our goal is to fix that. The Young Forwardists Committee fosters a safe space for youth to have the political discussions on college and high school campuses across the nation. We accomplish this while upholding the values of Steadfast Integrity, Respectful Activism, and Diverse Perspectives; we live the attitude that we hope to see reflected in our representatives.

What do we mean by opportunity, the Forward Process, and empowerment? These represent our organizational commitment to providing youth with the chance to become political change makers. The Young Forwardists Committee is first committed to providing political opportunity to youth. While there is nothing wrong with learning politics from your parents, we seek to provide youth opportunities to form their own political perspectives by experiencing politics themselves. This could look like working with community partners, aligned elected officials, partnered organizations, or in grassroots organizing. Our Forward Process refers to the Forward Party's method of conflict resolution; civil discourse through our school chapters deconstructs arguments to bring parties to a common ground solution on polarized topics. But the Young Forwardists don't believe the discussion ends when we come to a verbal agreement. Through our commitment to empowerment, we seek to push students creative solutions to tangible change in their community. This could be as a campus petition, public policy, ballot initiative, or community program. The Young Forwardists are committed to connecting youth with Forward's network of elected officials and organizational collaborators to make youth activism a reality.

Who is a Young Forwardist? While "youth" can be tricky to define, the Young Forwardists is home to those in school and under the age of 35. Really, if you self-identify as young, then we have a spot for you! You don't need to be a student to get involved, either. A broad age range allows the Young Forwardists to offer unique opportunities for two generations of youth. Prospective Young Forwardists, you can look to the committee as a leader for political change in youth worlds—most commonly in schools through chapters/clubs, but also by impacting grassroots change in your local community. Older activists interested in facilitating the movement are still encouraged to volunteer as members of sub-committees or mentors to emerging youth agents for change. 

Our work on the ground: The Young Forwardists have a unique take on committee work under the Forward party: we build a home for youth through chapters (campus clubs). Centralized in high schools, colleges, and local communities, Young Forwardists chapters serve as an on-the-ground proxy for the Forward Party. Through the Young Forwardists chapters, activists create safe spaces for discussion, host events (tabling, speakers, debates & dialogues), exercise and teach civic engagement, host workshops, and solve campus issues, all while upholding the values of Steadfast Integrity, Respectful Activism, and Diverse Perspectives. The events held by the Young Forwardists chapters aim to display the "Forward Process" of solving issues and bolster the activist network to empower Young Forwardists to be the agents for political change in their communities. What do these two goals mean? The Forward Process is the Forward Party's approach to solving hot-topic issues. We gather the opposing sides of an argument, let each side respectfully present their position, and work to find a common-ground solution through civil debate and reason. By employing this process to resolve campus-wide issues, Young Forwardists get a taste for enacting change in their community. Chapters then elevate these discussions to action by sponsoring petitions, candidate scorecards, or any other initiative encouraging positive community change. Once these elements have been combined, Young Forwardists chapters will have demonstrated the depolarizing approach Forward looks to employ nationwide!

Why Join? Joining the Young Forwardists means becoming part of a movement dedicated to building a forward-thinking society. It's an opportunity to amplify your voice, gain invaluable experience in political advocacy, and connect with a network of motivated peers and mentors committed to fostering positive change. As a growing political party, Young Forwardist chapters can even open work opportunities in state parties, election campaigns, or national committee work! Sign up, get involved with a chapter, and follow your passions! You don't have to be a member of the Forward Party, either. Each chapter's priority is functionality, not partisanship. Joining a chapter or attending events is only a commitment to the desire for positive political change!

How do I sign up? Use the form to the right to sign up as a Young Forwardist. If you have already signed up, check this page with your signed-in account to find events near you, get involved with local chapters, and attend monthly meetings.

Join us in shaping a brighter, forward-moving future using the form on the right! ➡️