PORTLAND, MAINE | Dozens of Maine Seeds from across the state hosted the 4th Annual Maine Youth Summit on March 10 and 11 and helped run the New England Youth Identity Summit on March 12.
Both events highlighted the power of young people to create meaningful cultural and policy change in their schools, with Maine Seeds sharing their work, facilitating dialogue sessions, and learning with and from their peers.
“We focused on the power and potential of young people to create meaningful culture and policy change in their schools, and the Maine Seeds led the way,” said US Programs Director Sarah Brajtbord. “It was a beautiful example of youth leadership at every level.”
The Maine Youth Summit, held at the Portland Public Library, focused on education, gender, and identity, and was attended by teachers and high school administrators, including the Superintendent of Portland area schools and the Principal of South Portland High School.
The Seeds presented their policy recommendations to a panel of education professionals, community leaders, policy-makers—and their peers. They also led an intensive question and answer session with the panelists followed by a dialogue session that engaged the entire group.
Topics discussed included standardized testing, de-gendering dress codes, inclusive sex ed, gender and bathrooms, diversity of teaching staff, and Islamophobia.
“This is a platform for Maine students to share their opinions about issues that face our state and how they see them being solved,” said Nina, a Maine Seed who helped organize the Summit.
“It allows us to hear all sides of an issue, and gives us a voice in decisions that will ultimately affect us. This is about student leaders working with administrators and educators to implement concrete solutions to the issues in our educational system and school communities.”
The Maine Youth Summit set the stage for the New England Youth Identity Summit hosted by Seeds of Peace and Waynflete High School in Portland. The Youth Identity Summit, which opened with a powerful performance by the New York City-based Dialogue Arts Project, was attended by more than 200 students, parents, and educators from 31 schools and organizations from as far away as Rhode Island.
The Summit included a series of student-led workshops designed to inspire critical thinking and dialogue on key issues facing US schools and to equip participants with the tools to go back to their schools to implement different initiatives and activities to make their communities safer and more inclusive.
Don Sawyer, a professor of sociology and Hip Hop culture, and Dr. Karambu Ringera of International Peace Initiatives were the key-note speakers. Maine Seeds and other student leaders led and facilitated all student workshops, ranging in topics from “How to change your school’s culture through Color Games”, to “Moving from Debate to Dialogue”, “Black Lives Matter Activism in Maine Schools”, and transgender rights.
NEW ENGLAND YOUTH SUMMIT PHOTOS
What a wonderful opportunity for the youth to make a difference in our world.