youth

by Kate Owens On May 21st, Peace Learning Center hosted 150 students in downtown Indianapolis at the Athenaeum for the 4th annual youth symposium. This year’s theme was Amplify: Harnessing the Power of Youth Voice. This event, presented by PLC in collaboration with the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction, brought together students who are leaders in their schools to develop the skills to use their own voices as an agent for change. The focus of the event was youth activism and youth harnessing the power of their own voices. The participants learned about youth changemakers and the difference one kid can make in their own community. Upon arrival, the students ate breakfast and watched the short film Little Warriors about a group of Indianapolis kids who made a difference on environmental issues through action and advocacy. The film tells the story of how these students got a climate change resolution passed in the Indianapolis City-County Council. After being inspired by the Little Warriors film, the youth broke into small groups for more in-depth activities. In their small groups, the students read the book Secret of the Troublemakers by PLC’s own Kristina Hulvershorn. Secret of the Troublemakers is a call to action for disruption of the system in the pursuit of changing the world. Next, they learned about a few powerful youth activists like ‘Little Miss Flint’ Mari Copeny, who has done amazing work in her community surrounding