Youth Speak Out International

What Youth Speak Out International does

Youth Speak Out International Inc. (YSO INT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2008 and headquartered at 4300 S US Hwy 1, Suite 203-16, Jupiter, Florida. Its mission is to equip youth ages 5-18 from culturally diverse, low-income, and at-risk backgrounds with media literacy, AI literacy, digital citizenship, life-purpose, and media production skills. The organization delivers a portfolio of eight trademarked programs — Lights, Camera, Action, AI; Life's Purpose; Today's Technology & Communication; Today's Digital Citizens; Unplug to Connect; Making the Community Aware; Costa Rica Going Green; and Jamaica on The Rise — through trained facilitators at afterschool programs, schools, community centers, and juvenile justice facilities in South Florida, Belize, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.

Programs combine curriculum-based instruction with hands-on youth media production (storyboarding, filming, editing of public-service videos), and the Lights, Camera, Action, AI track introduces students to ethical AI use through simple guiding principles, supported by multilingual Family AI Agreements in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. Annual program assessments are conducted externally by Prime Time Palm Beach County, yielding reported outcomes including an 87% Life's Purpose completion rate, 92% Digital Citizens skill-improvement rate, 27,888 youth experiences over a recent two-year window, and 4,585 children and youth served in that period, contributing to a cumulative reach of more than 20,206 youth across 118 afterschool and community-based sites.

The business model is donation- and grant-driven, with programs offered at no cost to participants. There is no disclosed pricing, no paid customer base, and no public revenue reporting; delivery relies on volunteer facilitators and is distributed through intermediary partnerships with school districts (Palm Beach County School District), public-sector agencies (Florida Department of Juvenile Justice), after-school intermediaries (Prime Time Palm Beach County, Edna Runner Tutorial Center), public media (The Education Television Network), and international education institutions (Sacred Heart College Belize, Galen University, Escuela Pochotel Costa Rica). Governance is founder-/board-led, with Arlene L. Connelly documented as Board Chairman in available materials and no broader leadership team disclosed.

Name

Youth Speak Out International

Legal name

Youth Speak Out International Inc.

Website

https://youthspeakoutint.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Youth Speak Out International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2008 that delivers media literacy, AI ethics, digital citizenship, and life-purpose programs to youth ages 5-18 across 118 partner sites in South Florida, Belize, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education and Media Literacy Programs

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s & Youth Educational Entertainment (Edutainment) (EDAGALAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital/Interactive Curriculum Content (Apps, Games, Multimedia Lessons) (EDACAJAK)

Keywords

• Youth media literacy
• AI ethics education
• Digital citizenship programs
• Youth empowerment programs
• Afterschool community programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Jupiter

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, YSO INT relies on tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations to fund operations and program delivery.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Youth Speak Out International delivers youth education programs focused on media literacy, ethical use of artificial intelligence, digital citizenship, life purpose development, and hands-on media production. Programs such as Lights, Camera, Action, AI™; Life's Purpose™; Today's Technology & Communication™; and Today's Digital Citizens™ are offered free of charge to children and teens ages 5–18 through facilitators at afterschool programs, schools, community organizations, and juvenile justice facilities across South Florida, Belize, Costa Rica, and Jamaica.

Product overview

Youth Speak Out International is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates as a single unified offering centered on youth media literacy and empowerment programs. The organization delivers multiple programmatic products including Lights, Camera, Action, AI™ (AI literacy), Life's Purpose™ (youth empowerment), Today's Technology & Communication™ (screen time management), Today's Digital Citizens™ (digital citizenship), Unplug to Connect™ (digital addiction intervention), Making the Community Aware™ (community film production), Costa Rica Going Green (environmental media literacy), and Jamaica on The Rise (national unity campaigns). These programs are delivered at afterschool and community-based sites across South Florida, Belize, Costa Rica, and Jamaica, serving children and youth ages 5-18 with hands-on media production training, AI education, and life skills development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lights, Camera, Action, AI™ Media literacy and AI ethics education program teaching youth ages 5–18 to evaluate news sources, stay safe on social media, and use AI tools ethically using simple guiding principles like 'AI is not a person' and 'AI can make mistakes.' Includes Family AI Agreements in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole.
• Life's Purpose™ Youth Empowerment Program Youth empowerment program helping young people discover their life's purpose, develop mission statements and life codes, and build skills for positive personal change through multimedia expression. Delivered to youth in afterschool, school, and juvenile justice settings.
• Today's Technology & Communication™ Program teaching children and teens how to manage screen time, unplug from devices, strengthen communication skills, and develop responsible technology use habits.
• Today's Digital Citizens™ Program addressing digital citizenship for children and teens, covering responsible social media use, healthy disagreement online, and positive influence when connecting with others digitally.
• Unplug to Connect™ Digital addiction intervention program teaching youth, parents, and families strategies to self-regulate mobile technology use and communicate face-to-face.
• Making the Community Aware™ Belize-based media literacy and film production project where college students mentor underserved high school youth to create films addressing community problems and solutions.
• Costa Rica Going Green Costa Rica-based social and emotional media literacy project where elementary and middle school students learn about media influence and produce public service announcements about recycling.
• Jamaica on The Rise Jamaica-based media literacy project where youth create educational videos and public service announcements about unity and positive change.

Quantifiable outcome

• 87% of students completed the Life's Purpose program last year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Prime Time Palm Beach CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrime Time Palm Beach County serves as an after school intermediary organization that conducts external observations and assessments of YSO INT programs annually. They provide quality assurance and program evaluation services for the organization's evidence-based strategies.
• Edna Runner Tutorial CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to ensure youth have opportunities to experience media and understand its direct impact. Edna Runner Tutorial Center recognizes YSO INT's expertise in cultural competency, media literacy, and life skills.
• The Education Television NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting the School District of Palm Beach County's mission to help students understand media and develop critical thinking skills. Students create their own media projects exploring and interpreting the world around them.
• Sacred Heart College (Belize)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost site for Making the Community Aware media literacy project in San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize. College provided venue for film screening and community forum showcasing youth-produced content.
• Galen University (Belize)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity student volunteers mentored by YSO INT to implement photography and film production programs for local underserved high school youth in Belize.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Close Up Foundation: Close Up Foundation delivers civic education, media literacy, and youth empowerment programs to schools and community organizations. Its civic/youth empowerment focus and school partnership model overlap with YSO INT's Life's Purpose program.
• Common Sense Media: Common Sense Media is the most direct peer: a mission-driven organization providing K-12 media literacy, digital citizenship, and now AI-literacy curriculum and educator resources. It competes for the same school district and parent mindshare as YSO INT.
• iCivics: iCivics is a nonprofit that delivers civics and media/discrimination literacy curricula to K-12 classrooms and afterschool programs. It is comparable as a youth-focused educational nonprofit combining classroom curriculum with digital/online delivery to schools.
• Digital Citizenship Institute: The Digital Citizenship Institute focuses specifically on digital citizenship training for educators and youth, including AI literacy. It is a direct, narrowly focused peer in the same content category that YSO INT addresses with "Today's Digital Citizens."
• Facing History & Ourselves: Facing History & Ourselves provides K-12 social-emotional, civic, and media literacy programming to schools and communities. Its school-district partnership model and educator training approach closely parallel YSO INT's facilitator-delivered afterschool programs.

Broad incumbents

• EverFi: EverFi delivers digital literacy, financial literacy, and social-emotional learning curricula to K-12 schools and districts at scale. It is a broad incumbent in the same digital citizenship/media literacy category with a more commercial, SaaS-style delivery model.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: Boys & Girls Clubs of America is the dominant US afterschool/youth development network serving low-income youth. It is a broad incumbent that provides similar youth programming infrastructure where YSO INT partners or competes for member time.

Regional players

• After-School All-Stars: After-School All-Stars operates large-scale afterschool programs for underserved middle school youth across multiple US regions. It is a comparable afterschool delivery vehicle where YSO INT's curriculum could be embedded or competed against.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/YouthSpeakOutI1
• Facebookfacebook.com/youthspeakoutint
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youth-speak-out-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Youth Speak Out International