The Des Moines Civil & Human Rights Commission is seeking to increase the diversity of voices in local government by seeking applicants for two groups — the Youth Advisory Board Reactivation Task Force and the Refugee Immigrant Advisory Subcommittee. The Youth Advisory Board Reactivation Task Force is a group people ages 14 to 24 that will help create a sustainable youth voice in Des Moines city government. Up to 10 people will be selected to work with the Des Moines Civil and Human Rights Commission to restore the City’s Youth Advisory Board. “While the board has been inactive for a few years now, in light of the times we see the importance of restoring the board to give Des Moines youths a greater voice in the direction of their community,” said Commission Chair Kameron Middlebrooks. The key requirement of the task force will be meeting with the Civil and Human Rights Department team to assist in coordinating dialogues with Des Moines youths and using the information from those dialogues to make recommendations on how to reboot the Youth Advisory Board. The second group, the Refugee Immigrant Advisory Subcommittee (RIAS), is made up of community members who are a part of or work directly with Des Moines immigrant and refugee communities to identify barriers and actions that could be taken to address barriers. A key component of the subcommittee is community engagement and connecting with refugee/immigrant communities. An application for the Youth Advisory Board Reactivation Task Force can be found at the highlighted link; applications are due Feb. 21. More information about the work of RIAS can be found on the Bridging the Gap report page, and applications must be received by Feb. 28. Business Record Insider:Read more about the Des Moines Civil & Human Rights Commission.