For Immediate Release
Contact: Bijou McDaniel - Director of Digital Pedagogy & Communications, Youth Speaks
Leading National Literary Arts and Narrative Change Organization Youth Speaks Joins Statewide Initiative to Add Exponential Value to the State's $288B Creative, Cultural, and Business Economies.
Local Voices to Inform the Next Phase of California’s Creative Economy Strategic Planning.
San Francisco, CA [October 27, 2025] –Youth Speaks is proud to announce its selection as a key regional partner for the California Arts Council’s Creative Economies in Action: 2025 Statewide Engagement Tour.
This vital initiative will build upon California’s first Creative Economy Strategic Plan, driving deep community engagement and storytelling to inform a comprehensive addendum to be submitted to the Governor’s Office and State Legislature in Spring 2026.
“We are so excited to announce our continued partnership with The California Arts Council through the Creative Economies engagement tour,” said Joan Osato, Director of Narrative Change at Youth Speaks. “The Creative Economies in Action tour provides a crucial opportunity to ensure that the organizers, community leaders, businesses, and artists who should be shaping the future of the state’s arts initiatives have a seat at the table, and a stake in their own futures.”
Youth Speaks was chosen through a competitive public RFP process for its equity-driven approach, extensive regional knowledge, and robust technical and strategic capacity. We are one of five regional partners, including ArtsforLA, California for the Arts (CFTA), Hannah Blumenfeld, and Shasta Arts Council, who will lead public engagement efforts across the state.
Our involvement will primarily focus on the Regional Engagement component of the tour. This includes:
- Hosting public town halls throughout the Bay Area (Region 3) and the Central Valley and the Eastern Sierra regions (Region 4) area from December 6th, 2025 - December 14th, 2025.
- Supporting community surveys to gather broad input and stories of impact.
- Establishing strong local partnerships to ensure diverse participation across all creative disciplines and communities.
Youth Speaks will work closely with the California Arts Council and its strategic communications partner, Serotonin Creative, to coordinate regional town halls, conduct inclusive outreach, and gather invaluable community input. This collaborative effort will help shape a compelling and cohesive statewide narrative that underscores the economic power of the arts.
We strongly encourage all members of the public, especially those involved in the arts and creative industries across California’s Region 3 (Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sonoma counties) and Region 4 (Central Valley and Eastern Sierra: San Joaquin, Calaveras, Merced, Amador, Mariposa, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Tulare , Mono counties), to participate in upcoming town halls, webinars, and surveys. Your input will directly shape the future of California’s vibrant creative economy. A comprehensive calendar of events, direct registration links, and additional opportunities to provide input will be coming soon to creativeeconomy.arts.ca.gov and widely shared via the CAC’s newsletters and social media channels.
To stay connected and receive the latest updates, including public input opportunities, event announcements, and breaking creative economy news, sign up for more news here.
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Youth Speaks creates spaces that challenge young people to develop and amplify their voices as creators of social change. By providing free arts education to youth with limited access, Youth Speaks programs empower young people with opportunities to discover and develop their own voices. As the leading literary arts and spoken word organization, Youth Speaks has served hundreds of thousands of youth in the Bay Area and across the nation over the last 26 years. Learn more at youthspeaks.org.
The California Arts Council is a state agency with a mission of strengthening arts, culture, and creative expression as the tools to cultivate a better California for all. It supports local arts infrastructure and programming statewide through grants, initiatives, and services. The California Arts Council envisions a California where all people flourish with universal access to and participation in the arts.
