• Breaking It Down: Today’s Digital Citizens Week Four

    Breaking It Down is a blog series where we break down Youth Speak Out International’s curriculums week-by-week, exploring the major concepts and activities. This post looks at the lesson for Week Four. In Youth Speak Out International’s Today’s Digital Citizens program, students have the opportunity to explore their relationship to the digital world in a creative and engaging way. In Week Three, students had a discussion about cyberbullying and began working on the design stage […]

  • Breaking It Down: Today’s Digital Citizens Week Three

    Breaking It Down is a blog series where we break down Youth Speak Out International’s curriculum week-by-week, exploring the major concepts and activities. This post looks at the lesson for Week Three. Cyberbullying is a major issue facing today’s young people. The internet and devices provide a shield for kids to hide behind as they hurt other people. Some kids might not even realize the impact of their words or actions because of the distance […]

  • Breaking It Down: Today’s Digital Citizens Week Two

    Breaking It Down is a blog series where we break down Youth Speak Out International’s curriculum week-by-week, exploring the major concepts and activities. This post looks at the lesson for Week Two. The internet provides people with the ability to share information quickly and easily. This can be incredibly useful– but also potentially dangerous. In the second week of our Today’s Digital Citizens program, we explain the concept of a “digital footprint” and explore with […]

  • Digital Citizenship Across Generations

    This summer, students in Youth Speak Out International’s Today’s Digital Citizens program had the opportunity to collaborate with senior citizens. At Acts of Kindness summer camp, students in the 3rd-5th grade class heard from a local senior citizen about how technology impacts her life and her relationships with her grandchildren. She also helped students work on their projects, assisting with the creation of storyboards for each group’s Public Service Announcement (PSA).  This opportunity to collaborate […]

  • Breaking It Down: Today’s Digital Citizens Week One

    Breaking It Down is a blog series where we break down Youth Speak Out International’s Today’s Digital Citizens curriculum week-by-week, exploring the major concepts and activities. This post looks at the lesson for Week One.  The first moments of any of our summer and afterschool programs are filled with butterflies. Students make decisions right away about the facilitator and what he or she is there to teach them. At the same time, the Youth Speak […]

  • Our Digital Citizenship Agreement

    Digital technology plays a critical role in our daily lives. Many of us are constantly attached to our devices– whether that’s working on a computer, watching a new show through a streaming platform, or simply having our smartphones within reach at all times. But talking about the impact that these devices and platforms have on our lives can be incredibly difficult– especially when it comes to conversations with our children.  In Youth Speak Out International’s […]

  • From Student To Facilitator: Kyra Lane

    Kyra Lane has had quite the journey with Youth Speak Out International. While she’s better known as Ms. K to the students that she teaches in afterschool programs across Palm Beach County, Kyra’s journey with Youth Speak Out started when she was a middle school student herself, sitting in a classroom at Roosevelt Middle School. At the time, she was in love with dance. “Nothing could get my mind off it,” Kyra said. “Until [Mr. King] […]

  • Creative Learning Through the Digital World

    Many educators in today’s classrooms recognize the importance of creative learning. Whether it’s bringing the arts into academics or encouraging project-based learning, educators recognize that students need to develop a creative mindset in order to meet future challenges.  Technology and the digital world can be a great catalyst for creativity. While there is certainly a risk of passive technology-use, active technology-use encourages students to try new things and create. For example, in Youth Speak Out […]

  • Cultural Education In The Digital World

    It is always a good time to celebrate diversity. On Monday, many in the United States celebrated Indigenous People’s Day, and this weekend will mark the end of Hispanic Heritage Month. As we reflect on the diverse people who make up our communities, it is important to consider the role that the digital world plays in creating a more equal society.  According to the United Nations, access to the internet is a human right. Without […]

  • Meeting The Need: Afterschool Programs

    According to a recent survey by Afterschool Alliance, many students still lack access to quality afterschool programming. “There are 24 million students who are not enrolled in an afterschool program, but would be enrolled if a program were available to them,” the survey says. Black and Latino families are more likely to face barriers to enrolling their students. Supporting these families through these educational services is more important now than ever before. The main barrier […]

What We Do

Youth Speak Out International (YSO INT) is a non-profit organization dedicated to giving children and youth a voice through collaborative media production. As a result of our innovative, hands-on curricula, children develop media literacy, learn to manage their screen time, strengthen their communication and digital citizenship skills as they discover their life’s purpose.

Our Mission is to empower youth and families within culturally diverse communities to use their voice for global change by teaching media literacy, strengthening communication skills, fostering face-to-face collaboration, and providing a platform for the creative use and effective management of screen technology. We envision a world in which empowered youth with strong human connections live with purpose to build a vibrant global community.

Founded in 2008 by CEO/Executive Director, William King, YSO INT was created to address the need for media education for youth and families impacted by media messages. YSO INT operates at the community level, working with afterschool programs, schools, families, and youth to foster lasting change. Our trained facilitators have educated more than 15,150 multicultural students in South Florida, Belize, Jamaica, and Costa Rica, giving priority to after-school programs serving low-income families and underserved youth.

By helping youth think critically about media content, YSO INT promotes tolerance, safety, and respect for others. This forms the groundwork for youth to create new media content aimed at producing positive change in their local and global communities. Youth learn script writing, storyboarding, and filming techniques to create videos that educate the public.

Our programs promote self-exploration, public speaking, and other life skills essential for job readiness. YSO INT’s most recent initiative, Today’s Digital Citizens™, helps children develop skills to manage their use of screen devices, as they learn to implement media literacy, privacy and reputation, online security safety, cyber bullying and mental well-being. By teaching youth creative uses of screen technologies and, at the same time, encouraging parents to become media mentors, Today’s Digital Citizens™ improves how screen technologies impact children and families.

YSO INT’s unique approach combining media literacy with media production empowers youth to share their voices and form stronger, face-to-face connections with others. In addition to inspiring positive change in their communities, these opportunities to discover and share their voice have changed the lives of today’s youth.

Breaking It Down: Today’s Digital Citizens Week Four

Breaking It Down is a blog series where we break down Youth Speak Out International’s curriculums week-by-week, exploring the major concepts and activities. This post looks at the lesson for Week Four. In Youth Speak Out International’s Today’s Digital Citizens program, students have the opportunity to explore their relationship to the digital world in a creative and engaging way. In Week Three, students had a discussion about cyberbullying and began working on the design stage […]

Learn More

Breaking It Down: Today’s Digital Citizens Week Three

Breaking It Down is a blog series where we break down Youth Speak Out International’s curriculum week-by-week, exploring the major concepts and activities. This post looks at the lesson for Week Three. Cyberbullying is a major issue facing today’s young people. The internet and devices provide a shield for kids to hide behind as they hurt other people. Some kids might not even realize the impact of their words or actions because of the distance […]

Learn More

Digital Citizenship Across Generations

This summer, students in Youth Speak Out International’s Today’s Digital Citizens program had the opportunity to collaborate with senior citizens. At Acts of Kindness summer camp, students in the 3rd-5th grade class heard from a local senior citizen about how technology impacts her life and her relationships with her grandchildren. She also helped students work on their projects, assisting with the creation of storyboards for each group’s Public Service Announcement (PSA).  This opportunity to collaborate […]

Learn More

Breaking It Down: Today’s Digital Citizens Week One

Breaking It Down is a blog series where we break down Youth Speak Out International’s Today’s Digital Citizens curriculum week-by-week, exploring the major concepts and activities. This post looks at the lesson for Week One.  The first moments of any of our summer and afterschool programs are filled with butterflies. Students make decisions right away about the facilitator and what he or she is there to teach them. At the same time, the Youth Speak […]

Learn More

Our Digital Citizenship Agreement

Digital technology plays a critical role in our daily lives. Many of us are constantly attached to our devices– whether that’s working on a computer, watching a new show through a streaming platform, or simply having our smartphones within reach at all times. But talking about the impact that these devices and platforms have on our lives can be incredibly difficult– especially when it comes to conversations with our children.  In Youth Speak Out International’s […]

Learn More

How To Talk To Your Kids About The Next Phase Of The Pandemic

As more people become vaccinated against COVID-19, and governments begin to lift restrictions in public spaces, the list of questions and concerns for children is growing. This past year has been incredibly difficult for our youth. It has been a year filled with not only educational hurdles, but social and emotional hurdles as well. As we move into the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that parents and educators understand how to […]

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Impactful Moments through Life’s Purpose

For the young people who find themselves in Palm Beach County’s Juvenile Detention Center, life isn’t easy. But we want to make it better. In February 2021, we returned to the Juvenile Detention Center to work with a new group of students in our Life’s Purpose program. In this program, we give these young people the tools to envision a better future and create a set of positive goals.  “I think for most of the […]

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Breaking It Down: Today’s Digital Citizens Week Two

Breaking It Down is a blog series where we break down Youth Speak Out International’s curriculum week-by-week, exploring the major concepts and activities. This post looks at the lesson for Week Two. The internet provides people with the ability to share information quickly and easily. This can be incredibly useful– but also potentially dangerous. In the second week of our Today’s Digital Citizens program, we explain the concept of a “digital footprint” and explore with […]

Learn More