Growing Up Boulder

The video clip above is an interview between former Growing Up Boulder (GUB) Co-Coordinator (now professor) Debra Cushing and former GUB child (now an adult and City of Boulder Neighborhood Liaison), Edgar Chavarria.  It is a testament to the difference Growing Up Boulder makes in the life of young people who participate in its projects.

Growing Up Boulder's (GUB) mission is to offer Boulder's young people opportunities to participate, deliberate, and influence local issues that affect their lives. Our vision is to lead a global movement in child-friendly cities, resulting in more equitable and sustainable communities for all. 

Launched in 2009 as a collaboration between the University of Colorado, the City of Boulder, Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), and 40 other local partners, Growing Up Boulder is Boulder's "child- and youth-friendly city initiative."  As a "child-friendly city initiative," Boulder recognizes the rights and interests of young people in local policy, law, programs, and budgets as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.  In practice, GUB includes the voices of Boulder area's young people, ages 2 to 18, on local issues ranging from affordable housing to public safety and resilience.  Formerly a University of Colorado program, GUB is now a nonprofit under the fiscal sponsorship of the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center.

Since Growing Up Boulder's inception, GUB has civically engaged over 7,500 local children and youth and impacted 2.5 million people globally through its TED talk, presentations, and writing.  Because the voices of children and youth from underrepresented groups are even less likely to be heard, GUB ensures that 50% or more of its participants identify as BIPOC, English Language Learners, young people with disabilities, unhoused, underresourced, and/or LGBTQ+.  To ensure equity and good practices, Growing Up Boulder co-creates engagements with partner organizations such as I Have a Dream Foundation, TGTHR, El Centro Amistad, and Imagine. Engagements may be one-time sessions, but more frequently, they are long-term commitments that take three months or more.  Through these engagements, Growing Up Boulder’s children and youth have influenced more than 20 policies and places, including 7 master plans.