TeenCivics wins Rep. Young Kim’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 40th District

When asked what inspired the creation of TeenCivics, Olivia Skeete said, “Three statistics reveal a crisis in youth civic engagement: only 17% of Americans aged 18-29 trust the federal government to do what’s right (Pew Research, 2024), nearly 60% of teens have encountered political misinformation online in the past year (Common Sense Media, 2024), and just 22% of eighth graders scored proficient in civics on the 2024 National Assessment (NAEP, 2024).

“These numbers became real when I looked around my own friend group. My peers had no idea what Congress was actually doing. They didn’t know about laws being proposed that would directly impact their lives: student loan policy, environmental regulations, healthcare access, social media legislation. When I asked why they weren’t following congressional news, the answer was always the same: it’s too complicated, too boring, and they didn’t know where to start.

“What really concerned me was hearing my friends complain about the government doing things that were completely wrong if you actually looked at the bills being introduced. They were forming strong political opinions based on misinformation or incomplete narratives, not on what was actually happening in Congress. That gap between perception and reality felt genuinely dangerous.

“I wanted to create a practical solution. As I became more aware of this problem, I tried to look for existing resources that could help my peers understand legislation. I found nothing that met teens where they actually are. The problem wasn’t that congressional bill information doesn’t exist (Congress.gov publishes everything), but it’s written with sophisticated policy language that requires expertise to navigate. And even if I built the most beautiful civic education app in the world, my peers told me honestly: they wouldn’t use it. They’re not going to add another app to check daily when they’re already overwhelmed.

“Nothing like TeenCivics exists. No platform delivers teen-friendly congressional summaries directly into social media feeds teens already use. No existing resource calculates Teen Impact Scores to help young people filter for relevance. No other tool combines education with direct action pathways.

“So I built it. TeenCivics integrates civic education into teens’ existing digital lives, removes every barrier to understanding, and empowers young people to participate in democracy with confidence instead of confusion or fear.”