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“My goal is that the City of Atlanta becomes the best place in the United States to raise a family,” says Mayor (市长) Andre Dickens about the capital of Georgia.

Dickens grew up in Atlanta. Recently, he was asked about his main goals for this city of nearly 500,000 people. His focus, he said, is on the youth. For that reason, he told the public officially 2023 is the Year of the Youth.

“Whatever we do, we have to think about young people,” Dickens said. “Atlanta’s young people are our future. Continuing to invest (投资) in future generations puts them on pathways to success that will help us move Atlanta forward together.”

Dickens said that after he put forward the idea of the Year of the Youth, businesses, nonprofits, and other community members all said, “I want to be in on that.”

Businesses offer summer internship (实习) programs. They allow students in Atlanta to get valuable experience in the workplace. Dickens explained that several businesses in the city even made their working environments suitable for young people to join in internships.

Improving education is another key goal. Schools and city leaders have been working together to make their partnership in the service of young people stronger. Toward this end, the city is working to improve educational opportunities, create safe ways to school, and offer after-school activities for free or at little cost.

Dickens also believes that it’s important to invest in early education. Investing in early education, he explained, means that more young people will be able to develop basic skills, stopping them from falling behind later in life.

Dickens is looking forward to positive results. “Everyone’s getting ready to serve the young people over the summer,” he said.