Youth Portal 

Young people in Boulder repeatedly expressed a desire for one website where they could find everything youth-related.  It would include everything from activities and events in the community to links to college resources.  The Web and Gaming Applications TEC Program class at Arapahoe Ridge High School worked on this concept in the spring of 2011, using ideas generated from other Boulder teens combined with their own unique version to create the site.  They field-tested the website with various groups of their peers: Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB) students and young participants at the GUB annual youth celebration.  Another issue raised with the youth portal was the question of who would host and manage this site. GUB staff explored this question with a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado’s Communications Department, Lucille Sommers, who is interested in understanding the use of informal spaces of engagement, both physical and virtual, to facilitate youth participation and deliberation.  In the end, a Youth Portal was created, but is not currently being run by anyone.