by Rebecca Makar

More than 165 youth delegates ? from Alaska to Florida ? attended the 83rd annual Congress of Cities in Reno, Nev., to address important issues facing their cities and to learn from each other and from city leaders.

Focus on Youth Violence
With the effects of media violence on youth high on the agenda for NLC President Bart Peterson, mayor of Indianapolis, youth delegates participated in focus groups to reflect on the significance of youth violence in their own lives and potential strategies youth and city leaders could use to reduce youth violence.

Most of the youth felt that, at some level, violence did impact their lives, neighborhoods and cities. Furthermore, youth delegates discussed an array of prevention strategies, including:

? visits to schools by city leaders;

? youth mentoring programs;

? a larger selection of positive activities for youth;

? reserving spots on youth councils for troubled youth and recruiting them to join such activities; and

? conflict mediation in schools.

Youth had other innovative ideas, such as changing the structure of suspensions so that students would be sent instead to City Hall with a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) officer or another adult who could mentor them.

According to Stacey Dorsonne, a youth delegate from Miami Gardens, Fla., ?Suspensions where youth get sent home don?t work as well as suspensions where they are sent to be with other adults and are held responsible for doing their homework, as well as other work.?

Bridging the Generation Gap
Youth violence was also a key theme during a Saturday morning breakfast session that brought together 180 youth and adult delegates. Youth delegates invited adult leaders from their cities to this session to encourage open communication about the issues each group faces. 

?Talking to city council more about youth violence and other important issues is one thing that we [youth] could do more, to let them know what we think of the issues and how they are affecting us,? said Natalie Lucas, a youth delegate from Flagstaff, Ariz.

Youth Engagement Models
Other forums led by youth facilitators involved small group discussions of 10-12 youth around creating effective youth councils, organizing youth summits, promoting youth service and conducting outreach to other youth.

Many of the youth delegates were involved in their cities? youth councils, allowing them to provide feedback to their mayor and city councilmembers. Youth councils represented at the conference are involved in planning many activities, including:

? Surveys on youth issues;

? Leaderships retreats;

? Volunteer and service opportunities;

? Fundraising (some youth councils raised their own funds to attend the conference);

? Providing grants to youth involved in community service; and

? Community outreach.

The youth delegates serve their communities in other ways, from helping design a skate park in Caldwell, Idaho, to creating holiday gift bags for those in need in Tampa, Fla.

Continuing Dialogue
To continue facilitating inter-city learning among youth, NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF) offers the Youth as City Leaders website.

This website hosts interviews with youth councils, blogs by youth leaders, discussion forums, and a directory of youth councils across the country. The site provides an online forum for ongoing dialogue between youth who are working to improve their communities.

?We?re the future leaders,? said Ernie Espinosa, a youth delegate from Denver, Colo. ?City leaders need to hear our voices now.?

Details: The Youth as City Leaders website is available at www.nlc.org/iyef/youth_as_city_leaders. For more information on youth participation in local government or on bringing youth delegates to future NLC conferences, visit www.nlc.org/iyef or contact Rebecca Makar at (202) 626-3046 or makar@nlc.org.