We are excited to publish the third issue of Extensions Magazine, devoted to the topic of Creative Youth Development. This is also our first double issue, allowing us to feature even more contributions from around the world.
Creative Youth Development (CYD) places the imagination, voice, experiences, and cultural lives of young people at the center of development and learning. Whether through music, visual arts, storytelling, media creation, performance, design, science, engineering, or community expression, young people are given opportunities not only to create, but to discover who they are and how they want to participate in the world around them. CYD reminds us that creativity is deeply connected to human development — to confidence, relationships, curiosity, resilience, and purpose.
This issue is especially timely. Around the world, young people are navigating profound social, emotional, educational, technological, and political challenges. Many youth are searching for spaces where they can express themselves authentically, build community, and contribute meaningfully to society. At the same time, educators, practitioners, researchers, philanthropists, and policy-makers are increasingly recognizing that traditional educational models alone are insufficient for preparing young people for our world. Creative Youth Development offers a powerful response by integrating learning, wellbeing, identity development, and civic participation in ways that are engaging, equitable, and deeply human.
Creative Youth Development is also critically important for the future of extended education and learning. Extended education spaces — afterschool programs, community organizations, libraries, museums, summer learning opportunities, and youth-serving institutions — have long been places where young people can explore interests, build relationships, and learn beyond the constraints of formal schooling. CYD strengthens this work by demonstrating that creativity is not peripheral to learning, but central to it all the time. It reminds us that young people learn best when they are engaged emotionally, socially, culturally, and imaginatively. In this sense, CYD expands our understanding of learning beyond academic achievement and highlights the essential dimensions of healthy development and lifelong learning. It is also in extended learning spaces where artists can encounter young people and teach them essential skills and boundless imagination. Educators who are not artists can also join the young people to find their own creative expression.
This is exactly what GELYDA is about: learning from one another across disciplines, institutions, countries, and continents.
This is also our first issue led by a guest editor, a tradition we plan to continue regularly. Denise Montgomery generously agreed to serve in this role, and she conceptualized, designed, and executed the issue beyond our highest expectations. Denise is a leader in extended learning and youth development, and a prominent global voice in creative youth development. From her base in San Diego, California, USA, she navigates these landscapes across the United States and increasingly around the world, bridging research, practice, philanthropy, and policy with extraordinary insight and care.
We could not have hoped for a better editor to bring together so many leading voices from across the globe. This is exactly what GELYDA is about: learning from one another across disciplines, institutions, countries, and continents.
Enjoy reading this issue and join the dialogue. We hope this special issue on Creative Youth Development will inspire your work and spark new conversations and collaborations. We encourage you to use this issue in your own work and to share the entire issue — or individual articles — with your colleagues, partners, students, families, and the many communities and constituencies with whom you work. Only by learning together across sectors, generations, disciplines, and cultures can we continue to strengthen opportunities for young people around the world.