Toward the end of the of the twentieth century, the idea that young people are social actors gained increasing predominance. Since then, there has been a growing recognition of young people's ability to understand and contribute to forming their environments. In this article, the authors discuss the state of youth participation in the United Kingdom and United States and then describe two projects--one in each country--that represent efforts to stimulate young people's initiative in working for community change. The principles of social action, as developed by the Centre for Social Action, informed both of these projects. The projects demonstrate how social action practice can be a valuable framework for youth engagement. It emphasizes youth voice, participatory practice, and community building. Older youth consistently point to these components as necessary and desirable features of youth organizations and projects. Project examples help educators to understand the challenges and tasks of using the social action framework to inspire youth leadership and healthy development. (Contains 9 notes.)