Call for Change: Your Election 2024 Project
We want to hear what your students have to say about the issues facing their communities and the country.
From now through Election Day 2024, KQED seeks commentaries about election-related issues from secondary students across the nation.
Watch a short project overview video.
Student pieces will be published to the Youth Media Showcase, and some will be selected for KQED’s broadcast and digital channels.
Questions about publishing? Read our FAQs here.
Project Details
What is it?
Call for Change is a free Youth Media Challenge project for middle and high school students, offered as an Election 2024 activity in partnership with PBS LearningMedia and the National Writing Project. The project guides your students through making a personal connection to an election issue, researching or advocating for a solution and creating an audio or video commentary or editorial cartoon to share their ideas.
The Call for Change project resources feature teacher-tested, ready-to use curriculum in both English and Spanish and includes a teacher toolkit, project checklists and rubrics.
Who can participate?
Any educator who works with students in grades 6-12, in learning settings from classrooms to after-school to community programs, can set up a Youth Media Challenge account and invite students to submit media. Since election topics span all areas of the curriculum, submissions from all subject areas are welcome!
How do I get started?
When are submissions due?
Election-related student media submitted from now through November 5, 2024 will be considered for showcasing as part of election coverage from KQED and our partners on web, social, or broadcast–so don’t wait to get started!
How do I help my students’ work get noticed?
Students should tag their pieces with “2024 Election” when submitting to the Showcase.
What topics do your students care about?
Use these Above the Noise episodes to help students identify the election topics that matter to them:
Educator Supports
Live Workshops
Receive hands-on experience, curriculum resources, and access to web-based media tools needed to start a media project in your classroom. Browse the full schedule of free, online workshops or start with one of these:
Self-Paced Courses
Learn–and earn grad units–on KQED Teach. Our free courses feature step-by-step videos and hands-on activities to help you successfully integrate this media making project into your classroom. Get started with one of these:
Your Trusted Election Destination
Since 2012, KQED has helped teachers across the country meaningfully connect their students to current events with election projects that center youth voice and media making. We joined with the National Writing Project for Letters to the Next President, then launched Let’s Talk About Election 2020 with NWP and PBS Student Reporting Labs, which has now evolved into the Youth Media Challenge. Collectively, these projects have elevated more than 10,000 youth voices into civic conversation.
KQED is a nonprofit, public media station and NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco. KQED is home to award-winning radio, TV, and original video and podcast series. KQED’s Education team provides free, high-quality resources that strengthen media literacy skills, empower youth voice and encourage civic engagement.