Latin American Youth Center

Girls Leadership led the way at the District of Columbia’s first Latino Youth Summit, where more than 200 young people came together on February 29 to discuss and make recommendations on critical issues facing Latino youth.

For five months, girls in the Latin American Youth Center’s Girls Leadership program met to plan the summit, from creating the slogan Step Up to designing t-shirts. At the summit, they introduced Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and facilitated workshops about education, cultural identity and awareness, civil right, teen pregnancy, and gang violence, among many other topics.

Youth between 12 and 22 took an active role in the summit hosted by the Mayor, the Office of Latino Affairs (OLA), and the Inter-American Development Bank. During workshops, youth engaged in dialogue about and suggested solutions to problems. Participants also visited an educational fair where local colleges and organizations provided information about their services. The summit concluded with a party and prizes giveaways. An ecstatic Leticia Acosta, participant in Girls Leadership, won the big prize—a flat screen TV donated by Best Buy—and offered it to her mother as a birthday gift.

Girl Leadership comments about the summit:

“In assisting to organize the Mayor’s first Latino Youth Summit, I gained more leadership skills and responsibilities, and I learned how to work with others at a different level.” (Yamileth)

“When we did the group percents of how many youth knew someone who was pregnant or in a gang, this really opened a lot of people’s eyes and made them realize the importance of programs like the Girls Leadership group at LAYC and other afterschool programs.” (Yessenia)

“This was a great learning experience for me, and I got to meet a lot of new people.” (Leticia)

“Hopefully, our voices were heard and change is on the way.” (Pamela)

Photos courtesy of Arlette Pedraguo & the Inter-American Development Bank.