This website was created by HiYC Communications Director, Karen Abe
The Hawai'i State Youth Commission (HiYC) has recently faced hurdles in creating their online presence by “gatekeepers” and the “adults” who have “control” over the Commission. When the Commission proposed to create their own Instagram and Facebook as a way to connect to the youth community, we were met with opposition. While other Commissions (such as the Commission on the Status of Women) were instantly granted autonomy over creating their own platforms, HiYC was presented with arguments it would be hard for youth to manage their own social media presence just because the Commission members are “youth.” This form of opposition is yet another example of how youth are often silenced and undermined of Youth abilities.
Specifically, for the HiYC Webpage project the youth have had to depend on the “adults” in the government and department to process our request of creating the website on our behalf. Although the Youth Commission has shown integrity and presented the department with all the materials needed to build the governmental webpage, it has seem as though the department is late to respond— delaying HiYC’s ability to establish their webpage presence. The creation of this project looks to stand above these oppositions and reliance of the government or “adults” in the department and illustrates the capability of youth to create the representation they need.
This project introduces and provides HiYC with online presence and ability to showcase HiYC’s past, current and future works. Although this platform is only the bare-bones of what the Hawai'i State Youth Commission has achieved so far, I hope this serves as a stepping stone into allowing HiYC to serve as a the semi-autonomous Commission as it is supposed to. By spreading awareness of the Hawai'i State Youth Commission, hopefully would empower Hawai’i youth to know t they have a gateway in having their voices heard in government.