The flyer of the virtual youth forum taking place this Thursday.

A panel of Long Beach high school and college students will have a chance to have a live and public conversation with their government officials on the importance of youth voting Thursday during a virtual forum.

From 6 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom, the forum’s guests will include representatives from the city’s mayor’s office and District 1 in the Downtown area, District 5 Councilwoman Stacy Mungo in East Long Beach, District 9 Councilman Rex Richardson, representatives from Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell’s office and Sen. Lena Gonzalez’s office, said Montserrat Pineda, a co-founder of the Long Beach City Votes Initiative, or LBC Votes, which is organizing the event. The group organizing the event may have others as they are still confirming.

Pineda said that she asked the all the city’s district offices to participate, but the councilmembers nor their representatives not included in the guest list were available for the forum.

Some of the discussion topics include how to access and speak to city council members, comparing the importance of local and national elections and voter education.

The group’s goal is to increase the voter engagement among marginalized youth, by “empowering and teaching the youth how to further engage in the political process,” Pineda said.

To RSVP and received the Zoom link to the forum, click here.