Aspira's Youth Leadership Development Program is based on the following principles:

• Young people are a community asset, not a problem.
• It is important to build meaningful relationships across race, class, gender, sexual identity and generations to strengthen the existing social capital of young people in low income communities.
• Youth leadership development takes a long time -- it is a process. Caring adults need to invest in young people over a period of years.
• Young people need to be actively engaged in the process of community change at all levels, from the street corner to the board room.
• Society must acknowledge and embrace the idea that youth are talented and capable of leading community change.
• Young people must lead positive change themselves in order for it to succeed.
• Leadership programs must identify, nurture and support more than a talented elite.
• The process of developing young leaders begins with learning how to learn.