OYF Convenings

The convenings of the Opportunity Youth Forum are a twice yearly highlight for members of our network. Attendance is by invitation only.

In collaboration with key implementation partner Jobs for the Future, the Opportunity Youth Forum designed and launched a national learning community of grantee partners over 10 years ago, which continue to this day. This learning community engages Opportunity Youth Forum site leads, youth leaders, funders, thought partners, and national leaders across many sectors in two convenings per year: a spring convening, typically hosted by a member community in order to promote learning in local context and lift up promising local practices in reconnecting opportunity youth, and a fall convening, which typically takes place on the Aspen Institute campus in Aspen, Colorado and focuses on national innovations and movement-building efforts.

We look forward to bringing together leaders from backbone organizations and their
collaborative partners, including youth leaders and those representing school systems,
institutions of higher education, community-based organizations, foundations, the private
sector and government.
Melody Barnes, Chair, Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions

Learn More About the Convenings:

  • Fall 2023 OYF Convening: Aspen, CO (YouTube playlist of plenaries)
  • Spring 2023 OYF Convening: Austin, TX (YouTube playlist of plenaries)
  • Fall 2022 OYF Convening: Albuquerque, NM (YouTube playlist of plenaries)
  • Spring 2022 OYF Convening: San Francisco, CA (YouTube playlist of plenaries)
  • Power of Place 2021 Digital Learning Series: in lieu of our usual in person convenings, we held this series of 4 online mini-convenings
  • Fall 2019 OYF Convening: Aspen, Colorado, October 28-30, 2019.
  • Spring 2019 OYF Convening: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 23-25, 2019.
  • Fall 2018 OYF Convening page, which took place in Aspen, Colorado, on October 8-10, 2018.
  • Spring 2018 OYF Convening page, which took place in Seattle/South King County (WA), on May 14-16, 2018.
  • Fall 2017 Convening page, which took place in Aspen, Colorado, on October 9-11, 2017
  • Spring 2017 OYF Convening page, which took place in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 22-25, 2017.
  • Fall 2016 OYF Convening page, which took place in Aspen, Colorado, on October 3-5, 2016.
  • Spring 2016 OYF Convening page, which took place in Chicago, Illinois, on April 11-14, 2016.
  • Fall 2015 OYF Convening page, which took place in Aspen, Colorado, on October 19-21, 2015.