“Give a Student Their Voice — and Their Vote.”
The Franklin Forum puts high schoolers in the arena of real public debate — where their opinions are taken seriously, their minds are sharpened, and their confidence to participate in democracy is built for life.
Your support keeps this seat at the table open for every student who needs it.
“Give a Student Their Voice —
and Their Vote.”
The Franklin Forum puts high schoolers in the arena of real public debate — where their opinions are taken seriously, their minds are sharpened, and their confidence to participate in democracy is built for life.
Your support keeps this seat at the table open for every student who needs it.
Our Democracy Is Losing the Ability to Disagree.
Today’s political climate too often degenerates into name-calling. We watch the news that confirms our bias, follow the crowd instead of our own reasoning, and assume anyone who disagrees with us must have bad intentions. Discourse has gotten coarse — and young people are growing up inside it.
Many students — especially those from under-resourced communities or difficult family circumstances — feel disconnected from society altogether, with no clear path to feeling like their voice matters.
The Franklin Forum was built to change that.
What the Franklin Forum Is
Democracy Demands Discussion, Discourse, and Debate.
That’s not just our tagline — it’s the founding premise our nation was built on, and it’s exactly what the Franklin Forum puts into practice.
We place high school students directly in the arena of public debate — sitting as equals alongside teachers and community members — to discuss the real issues shaping their world. No titles. No grading. No political agenda. Just a free, open, and respectful exchange of ideas, guided by a code of conduct that makes sure everyone is heard and no one is attacked.
Students walk in with an opinion. They walk out with a sharper one — and, remarkably, more friends than when they arrived.
“The best part of the Forum is that it almost always ends with participants more friendly when they walk out than when they walked in.”
How It Works
One Simple Idea, Powerfully Applied.
Each Forum session is led by an experienced outside moderator and brings together students, faculty, and community guests to discuss a current issue — political, constitutional, or social. Sessions run about once or twice a month, roughly a class period in length (extendable to 90 minutes).
The Franklin Forum is not formal debate; participants can re-evaluate, change their minds or maintain their opinions, as citizens in a democratic society often do. There are no winners or losers.
The Forum teaches civility in civil discourse, the ability to disagree and still be agreeable even in a passionate exchange of views.
The moderator sets the stage
background, historical context, every side of the issue, the relevant facts.
Students and guests weigh in
agreeing, disagreeing, defending, and re-examining their views in real time.
The conversation deepens
the moderator introduces new angles and unheard perspectives to keep the exchange lively and honest.
Everyone leaves better informed
and, just as importantly, better heard.
The moderator sets the stage
background, historical context, every side of the issue, the relevant facts.
Students and guests weigh in
agreeing, disagreeing, defending, and re-examining their views in real time.
The conversation deepens
the moderator introduces new angles and unheard perspectives to keep the exchange lively and honest.
Everyone leaves better informed
and, just as importantly, better heard.
Community members — professionals, civic leaders, everyday neighbors with a stake in the topic — are invited into every session, giving students access to role models and real-world perspective they wouldn’t otherwise get inside the classroom.
The Code of Debate
Five Rules. Total Equality.
Read aloud before every session, this code is what makes honest, fearless discussion possible:
Principle | Meaning |
I. No Titles | All participants are equal. |
II. No Preferences | All opinions are equal. |
III. No Restraints | All discussion is free and open. |
IV. No Repercussions | All conversation is free of personal attack. |
V. No Victories | All debate seeks truth. |
Principle | Meaning |
I. No Titles | All participants are equal. |
II. No Preferences | All opinions are equal. |
III. No Restraints | All discussion is free and open. |
IV. No Repercussions | All conversation is free of personal attack. |
V. No Victories | All debate seeks truth. |
There are no winners. No losers. No grades. Just first names, honest opinions, discussion based on reason, and the shared pursuit of understanding.
The Impact on Students
What Your Support Builds in Every Student:
Every Franklin Forum session is designed to help students:
• Feel intellectually connected to society — and empowered by it
• Build the confidence and self-esteem to speak up
• Sharpen analytical and critical-thinking skills
• Learn to truly listen
• Engage with diverse opinions and current issues
• Communicate their ideas — and genuinely seek out others’
• Respect opinions they disagree with
• Re-examine and evolve their own views
• Discuss difficult, divisive topics civilly — and remain friends afterward
• Form their own political philosophy grounded in real principles
• Ultimately: cast a knowledgeable, confident vote
This isn’t just a debate club. It’s civic education at its most human — and it produces better students and better citizens.
Why Your Gift Matters Now
Help Us Give More Students a Seat at the Table.
Every dollar you give helps the Franklin Forum bring another session, another moderator, another group of community mentors into another classroom — reaching students who might otherwise never get the chance to be heard as equals, challenged respectfully, and taken seriously.
A gift to the Prometheum Foundation is an investment in:
• More sessions in more schools
• Access for students from under-resourced communities
• Skilled, independent moderators who keep discussions fair and rigorous
• A new generation of engaged, informed, respectful citizens
“A representative democracy needs citizens who discuss and evaluate issues and vote with an educated opinion.”
— The Franklin Forum is how we build them.
Prometheum Foundation
300 Bedford Street
Stamford, CT 06901 USA
info@prometheumfoundation.org
© 2026 Prometheum Foundation Inc. | All Rights Reserved | a 501(c)3 Organization