by Michael Karpman
Promoting youth engagement and leadership through youth councils and other initiatives will be the focus of a free audioconference on Thursday, December 14, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The audioconference, titled ?A Seat at the Table: Engaging Youth as City Leaders,? is sponsored by NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.
Content and Speakers
Speakers on the call will highlight various strategies for involving young people in local government, promoting positive youth development and working with youth leaders to reach out to other youth in the city.
Listeners can expect to learn about how cities have formed youth councils, created youth service opportunities and developed youth roles within city government (such as municipal boards and commissions) to improve the community and inform local policy.
The audioconference will also showcase an effort to connect youth involved in local government to their peers across the country through the Youth as City Leaders website, an interactive web venue for youth council members, young community leaders and other youth who seek to impact their own cities and towns.
Speakers will include:
? Joanne Benham, director, Spokane Regional Youth Department, City of Spokane, Wash.;
? Chris Tan, assistant director, Office on Youth Development, City of Newport News, Va.; and
? Youth council members from Spokane and/or Newport News.
How to Register
While the call is free, it is available only to a limited number of participants. Advance registration is required by close of business on Tuesday, December 12. A separate registration is needed for each phone line that will be used to listen to the call.
One day prior to the event, each registrant will receive an e-mail or fax message providing a toll-free, dial-in number to use in joining the audioconference.
To register for the audioconference, e-mail or fax your name, title, organization, mailing address (including street, city, state and zip), telephone, fax and email. No telephone registrations can be accepted. You may e-mail iyef@nlc.org, or send a fax to (202) 626-3043.
Details: For questions, leave a message on the information line at (202) 626-3014.
Youth council members and other young people interested in participating in local government or community service can visit the Youth as City Leaders website at www.nlc.org/iyef/youth_as_city_leaders.
YEF Institute Announces 2007 Audioconferences
Registration is now open for a series of free, hour-long audioconferences scheduled to take place in the first half of 2007.
The audioconferences, sponsored by NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF) will help municipal officials learn new ideas for addressing problems and issues that affect the children, youth and families in their cities and towns. From January until June 2007, the Institute will host the following audioconferences:
? Thurs., Jan. 18, 2:00 p.m. Eastern: ?Banning the Box: Facilitating the Reentry of Former Offenders into the Workforce and Community?
? Thurs., Feb. 15, 12:30 p.m. Eastern: ?Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities: City Strategies for Combating Childhood Obesity?
? Thurs., March 22, 2:00 p.m. Eastern: ?Dropout Recovery: What Cities Can Do to Get Students Back on Track?
? Thurs., April 19, 4:00 p.m. Eastern: ?Promoting School Readiness: How Cities Can Reach Young Children in Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care?
? Thurs., May 24, 2:30 p.m. Eastern: ?Making Youth a High Priority: City-School Youth Master Planning Initiatives?
? Thurs., June 21, 12:30 p.m. Eastern: ?Economic Opportunity for All: City Roles in Building Stronger Families and More Inclusive Communities?
To register for any of these audioconferences, e-mail or fax your name, title, organization, mailing address (including street, city, state and zip), telephone, fax and email. No telephone registrations can be accepted. You may e-mail iyef@nlc.org, or send a fax to (202) 626-3043. Please identify the audioconference(s) for which you are registering.
One day prior to the event, each registrant will receive an e-mail or fax message providing a toll-free, dial-in number to use in joining the audioconference.
Details: If there are any questions, leave a detailed message on the information line at (202) 626-3014.