Tribes, challenges, and idols are popular elements generally associated with television’s “Survivor.” While the Emmy Award-winning reality competition show that strands strangers in remote, isolated locations is unique, specific elements of this long-running television program are being replicated by a leading youth development and college and career readiness unit.
The Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP) at NYU Metro Center, along with 51 fellow educational projects across New York State that operate under a 1989 law passed to decrease high school dropout rates, is incorporating Survivor’s thematic principles of “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast” into its 2026 Empire Promise Youth Summit. The Empire Promise Youth Summit brings together students from across New York State for a host of varied activities, electives, and challenges focused on personal growth, social-emotional learning, and leadership development. In recent years, Summit themes have pushed participating high school students to improve their ability to manage change and transition, mindfulness, and conflict resolution.
The Empire Promise Youth Summit is an annual event that regularly gathers more than 200 high school students. In the lead-up to this year's event, Liberty Partnerships Programs from across New York State have partnered together to produce a music video. In addition to serving as the official launch of the Empire Promise Youth Summit, the video also highlights LPP’s collective ability to offer students multiple ways to master core skills for high school graduation and prepare for postsecondary education responsibilities, as well as workforce opportunities.
The “Survivor-style” challenges and other immersive activities of the Liberty Partnerships Program’s Empire Promise Youth Summit convenings over the last five years have been known to foster community building and emotional intelligence among youth participants. According to NYU LPP Director Yolanda Fordham, the Summit’s group-based activities “augment human-centered abilities—like creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration—and are increasingly vital in a workforce shaped more and more by AI and automation, where interpersonal and social skills distinguish top-performing employees.” Ms. Fordham, Director of the Liberty Partnerships Program at NYU Metro Center, described the New York statewide music video not only as a means to energize students about the start of the new school year but also as a method to “support recruitment and sustain engagement for the 2026 Empire Promise Youth Summit.”
Watch LPP’s “Everyday People, Everyday Heroes” Campaign Video here:
Liberty Partnerships Program-“Everyday People, Everyday Heroes” (Official Music Video)
Inspired by Sly and the Family Stones’ 1969 rendition of “Everyday People” and the global spirit of Playing for Change, students from Liberty Partnerships Programs across New York State came together to reflect the strength, resilience, and, above all, the possibility in everyday people. This music video is a celebration and testament to that truth—it’s a creative way to raise awareness for the work we do and the strength of the young people we serve. All roads lead to the Empire Promise Youth Summit 2026, Survivor: Rise of the Heroes and the Power Within. From Albany to Binghamton, from Le Moyne to Utica, all the way to the Big Apple (NYC), Long Island, and Buffalo—this project reflects a single, powerful idea: Heroes aren’t just found in movies; they’re found in our schools, our communities, and in every LPP student.