pulling back the curtain on youth advocacy
a note from jasmine…
Founder of Turning Tides & National Geographic Explorer
When I started my journey as an ocean advocate and artist, I knew very little. Skills like networking, finding sources of sustainable fuel, creating my own website and Linkedin, and balancing school and work were all things I had to teach myself along the way. For a long time, I hesitated sharing what I didn’t know, for fear it would limit my opportunities or make people think I was less capable of my job.
Over the years I’ve spent as an environmental advocate, I’ve been fortunate enough to connect with so many other youth leaders worldwide. In talking to them, I discovered I wasn’t alone in my initial lack of knowledge. I also learned that feelings of burnout, frustration, and feeling lost were not just limited to my experience – these were actually super common experiences. What I knew most, and heard over and over from other youth, was that this work was isolating. Every single person I talked to assumed that they were the only one feeling this way..
This project is what I wished I had when I was starting out, and what I wish I had now - a one-stop shop to continually teach the skills I’m missing, to show the wide variety of ways we can all be advocates, and to let us know that everyone feels lost once in a while.
I hope you join me on this expedition as we pull back the curtain on advocacy work, together.
Doing any sort of advocacy work is hard work.
Understandably, because of this, youth often find themselves lost, frustrated, or burnt out only a few years after starting.
Turning Tides combats this with a comprehensive website created by youth, for youth. Inside these easily accessible toolkits, you will find tangible and concise information on all the things no one ever tells you about being a youth advocate. From how to actually network, to pivoting your project, to integrating advocacy into any career, Turning Tides is there to walk you through every step of the journey. With advice from over twenty of the world’s leading advocates, both starting and continuing advocacy work is becoming easier and more transparent, one toolkit at a time.