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Lerninhalte in Englisch
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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part B: Reading Comprehension

Read the article and do the following tasks according to the information from the text.

Come for the pizza, stay for the power: Why Boston let teenagers set its budget

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When the city of Boston gave teenagers the power to hand out a million dollars a year on urban
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improvements, there was scepticism – not just from officials, but from youth who assumed they’d be
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ignored. The results surprised everyone.
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It is after business hours in Boston’s City Hall. Fifteen high school students have gathered in a room,
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grabbed pizza slices, opened laptops and are preparing to spend the next two hours deciding how to
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spend a million dollars. The teens are part of Boston’s Youth Lead the Change initiative, a participatory
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budgeting programme that draws young people into annual cycles of local decision-making.
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Anthony Cardarelli, 15, is a newcomer at the meeting and is startled to hear that the meeting will help
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hand out real city money, for real projects. This year, a two-month phase of public crowdsourcing has
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generated more than 700 ideas. Now “change agents” like Cardarelli are working to reduce those ideas
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to a few feasible proposals. In May, there will be a public vote, open only to Bostonians from 12 - 25,
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to choose which proposals get the green light.
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Boston has a strong tradition of involving young people in city government, says Shari Davis, an energetic
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28-year-old who has led Youth Lead the Change from the beginning. In total, she estimates, more than 5,000
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young people have been involved – whether submitting ideas, voting or working as change agents. Project
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proposals selected for funding have included park and playground makeovers, community “art walls”,
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laptops for schools, water bottle refill stations and a feasibility study for a skate park.
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“This is an experiment in democracy. The young people have a real say over something they can point
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to in their community”, Davis says. “Those elements of real community change, real empowerment, make
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it applicable in communities all over the world.”
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A pilot year evaluation showed that young participants reported personal benefits from their
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involvement, including heightened awareness of community needs and government processes, and new
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skills such as patience and teamwork.But the evaluation noted some challenges, including insufficient
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time for a thorough examination of ideas, and disillusionment when certain projects did not win out.
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Reflecting on Youth Lead the Change, Stephen Lafume, 17, who joined Youth Lead the Change in 2014,
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says his favourite project was the skate park feasibility study. Even though there’s no plan to build it yet,
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he feels proud to have been part of that idea. He says, “I’m seeing 30 the change I put in my community.
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This made it clear: government is notjust the politicians, it’s about the people.”
Adapted from:
Larson, Sandra (2016): https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/mar/31/boston-pizza-teenagers-budget-youth-lead-change
[downloaded 13 March 2023]
a)
Tick the correct box. Only one answer is correct.
1
Initially the idea to involve teenagers was met with ...
doubts.
surprise.
ignorance.
2
The Youth Lead the Change initiative motivates young people to ...
reduce costs of the city council.
donate money to people in need.
take part in Boston’s budget decisions.
3
The period of time for one project cycle is ...
two months.
half a year.
one year.
(4 BE)
b)
Complete the following sentences.
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The task of change agents is to .
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The final decision about how the money is spent is made by .
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Young Bostonians actively take part in the Youth Lead the Change programme by or .
(3 BE)
c)
Decide if the statements are true or false and tick the correct box.
Find the lines in the text that support your decision and add them to the table.
True False Proof in line(s)
7 Money has been provided for the construction of a skate park.
8 Boston’s programme sets an example for other cities.
9 Stephen Lafume is disillusioned that his idea did not win out.
(3 BE)

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