By Dom Verwey, American International School of Budapest, Co-Founder of Serve Cerebral and Shei Ascencio, International Service-Learning Consultant, Co-Founder of Serve Cerebral

We keep talking about the future being away from today, but it is made today 

We are all for staying in the moment, knowing that the present is a gift; living in the current moment removes us from what could be or could have been. However, it is often difficult to reside in the present, with the continual evaluation of the past and postulating about the future that we seem to love to do so much. But, a little bit of ‘futures thinking’ helps us live in the moment; crafting the present with one eye simultaneously on what’s to come, designing today in the way we would like it to shape our tomorrow.

We may not each be able to directly influence the course of history on a wider scale, but we can write it on our own personal frontier. And if we do it in a way that inspires others, we could even shift from ‘me’ to ‘we’ by living today in the way we want to see the world in the future. Impact starts with the individual, moving outward, with no real known limit on how far you can reach. 

How we live today, and how we tell the story of how we live today, will determine the way we live tomorrow 

Storytelling has been at the forefront of community engagement for quite some time. It is regarded as a pivotal community asset, alongside other assets such as community members and resources. We like to reference this Community Asset Mapping resource, adapted from The Engaged Library by the Urban Libraries Council, to get to know what a community might regard as the assets it uses to function and thrive.

We learned from an amazing educator and friend, LeeAnne Lavender, that stories are one of our most cherished humanising assets. A story is how we have always told history; around a fire, a tree, a dinner table. Think about what we do when we gather in comfortable and safe spaces – we talk, reminisce, and establish narratives. These stories are held dearly and carefully carried away to be told elsewhere, especially if they are stories that connect to us deeply or inspire us to take action.

It follows that how we tell stories matters. A story can be told in a way that brings us together, while relaying key information and insights to our fellow community members. 

What are some of the most powerful and influential stories you’ve heard? How did the way those stories were told spark you to shift your thinking or action for positive change?

What we write into existence forges the way will continue to be, do, and build community 

What we tell, matters. We simply cannot capture all of history. We don’t have long enough memories, big enough digital data storage sites, and not everyone who experiences something has the ability to document it or tell it. It follows that what we are able to capture and tell becomes the only history that could be retold. And only something that is retold could become solidified into our historical accounts. 

That means for every single time we tell a single story, it might just be the time that story becomes etched into history. If a story is important enough for us to tell, it becomes part of our own history and our own value set. It becomes how we live and it becomes our method of connecting with others. Our history creates our present and sets the stage for our future. Every story you tell yourself or to others, has significance. What is it you want to tell? 

Youth aren’t going to inherit the world, they already own it. And they own it for longer than others do

For the first time in many places around the world, we are seeing youth holding the platforms and agency to stand up and get their stories heard. The trend of this voice seems to be coming from a state of anguish and frustration, but also a deep sense of hope and purpose for a better humanity and better world. 

More and more, we are seeing youth not just announcing their presence, but crafting the way forward as well. Youth have something powerful to lean on – their telling of their experiences is often raw and unfiltered, closer to the truth than we sometimes can imagine. Having intentionally-designed opportunities for youth to express themselves and design a future is pivotal and sustainable in the long-run, as younger people will be on this planet longer than others and so will craft the narrative for a longer amount of time. 

How can we leverage educational frameworks for youth design?

We already have mechanisms for youth-centered voice and design, while many are still to be created with creative and innovative design principles. Some of the most scalable mechanisms are:

• Service-learning as a way to leverage the taught curriculum for impactful community engagement and action. The National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) brings forward a great overview and philosophy of service-learning as well as a set of Kindergarten to Grade 12 standards to apply holistically. 
• Strategic action councils such as student governance councils, sustainability councils, leadership groups, steering committees, and more. 
• Curriculum development groups such as curriculum teams for subject areas, advisory programs, and experiential learning.

How could youth voice be intentionally centered in these spaces in your context?

How can youth own the future?

Our future is uncertain but becomes more certain the more we write it into existence through collaboration and intentionality. There are key ways of making this happen:

• Curiosity is key. How can we make the future we want if we aren’t curious about what is happening now? If we blindly follow whatever is laid in front of us, we are living someone else’s future instead of our own. Curiosity opens the door to agency which opens the door to the change you want to see and live. 
• Never go alone. Do you want a better future for everyone? Create it with everyone! (or, at least with as many as physically possible)
• Tell your own story and elevate the stories of others. Our future means OUR stories. Stories are the greatest asset in any community to create an upswell, critical mass, and social movement. If your story isn’t in there, then the future cannot hold that story in its living archive. 
• Create spaces, both physically and digitally, for storytelling. Manage these spaces with care and curate them by listening to your community.
• Design for youth centered-ness. Educators and school leaders can structure and restructure programs and groups to have students in the centre, putting them in the room and in the design process as the major stakeholders they are. And youth – take up space! Make it yours. Be bold and trust yourself and your peers.  
• And remember these as you craft the future…

Creating history is creating the future. 

Don’t wait for hope. You are the hope. We are the hope. We make it so. 

Tell the stories that matter. Make stories matter. And live the stories that you want to tell. 

There is no time like the present.

Acknowledgements

We’d like to thank the National Youth Leadership Council for their latest iteration of the National Service Learning Conference held in March 2025, where we were warmly welcomed to present our learning as Serve Cerebral (connect with us here). Special thanks to Amy Meuers, Miranda Taylor, and Syed Murtaza-Rose from the NYLC for hosting us, as well as Madelyn Qayyum for hosting us on the online panel and for being an inspiring youth leader.