The Summit for America’s Youth (SAY) conference is an annual event at our nation’s capitol where youth from around the country gather to meet with members of Congress and participate in valuable trainings. This year, a couple of the Washington organizations that participated were Boys & Girls Clubs of King County and Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County.
A part of SAY is its Advocacy Expo where teens participate in a “Think, Learn, Create Change” (TLC) initiative and showcase an issue that’s at the forefront of their minds. Youth from Boys & Girls Clubs of King County chose to focus on how gun violence is affecting their community. They created a poster board that showcased their concerns and presented it at the expo.
We asked youth about their experiences. Carter of Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County stated his most memorable moment was “getting to see the U.S. Representatives and Senators and talk with them about local issues that actually impact us.” Gavin, also from Skagit County, stated “it was an awesome experience meeting with Congress and learning about teen advocacy and meeting new people.” Jana, from Boys & Girls Clubs of King County, described her favorite time in the following way: “In the games room you would meet a lot of people throughout all the activities and had opportunities to strike up conversations. In the general sessions, you got to celebrate achievements and hear from different speakers.”
One influential session offered at SAY was the Power of Your Name session. Teens were able to better understand the importance of their names and those around them. For Jana and Nadia (who’s full name is Nadezhda), both of Boys & Girls Clubs of King County, this conference offering stood out among the rest. For Jana, it allowed “me to evaluate the shared struggle of understanding of teens’ names around us. As someone with an often mispronounced name, I felt heard throughout that session.” Nadia loved it too “because it allowed me to bond with others who had experienced the same struggles I had and allowed me to feel a bit prouder of my name.”
When talking about their favorite issues addressed at the SAY Conference, Zoey from Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County said, “All of the topics covered in the TLC projects because it was cool to see teens my age doing something so big.” River, also from Skagit County, shared that they found it very inspirational and uplifting about why we shouldn’t let the barriers get in our way of sharing our ideas and making a difference.
Carter summarized: “The conference taught me that the young people of today are the change makers of tomorrow.”
Well said, Carter. We couldn’t agree more! We’re so thankful for the opportunity the SAY conference offered our youth to continue advocating for themselves and their fellow teens.
