This research explores the possibilities of a democratic design process, in which technology is not treated as a solution to the civic apathy of young people, but a social construction with embedded values that young people negotiate with their own, as a way to draw themselves together as publics. This will be explored by creating a participatory multimedia-making program for young people, in which critical literacy around data and diagram production is fostered as a form of representation they can consider for articulating civic concerns relevant to them. The resulting program, Rise and Visualize, included eight young people and was hosted in partnership with For Youth Initiative between November 2017 to February 2018. The focus is on the engagement process and issues in design participation, therefore the design prototype being presented is the resulting process framework and case study, rather than artifacts created by the young people in the program.