tc5 websiteFriday, March 21st, over 40 youth representing eight different organizations in North Carolina convened at Durant Nature Park for a full weekend of workshops, campfires, outdoor fun, and bridge building at the Youth Organizing Institute’s 2nd Annual Building Bridges Teen Convening. The turnout for this year’s Teen Convening was nearly double that of our first year. In addition, the youth organizations in attendance formed the NC Youth Liberation Network!
This year, the program was entirely directed and facilitated by youth, and centered on the history of youth coalitions and of intersectionality. Youth came together around campfires on Friday and Saturday night to share poetry, music, and stories; and during the day participated in workshops exploring the intersections in their work as organizations and their identities as individuals. Youth also re-enacted and learned from the history of the formation of the Third World Liberation front during the Xicano movement in California, and developed a collective timeline from March through Liberation!
We know that the Youth Liberation Network will only continue to grow over the years, as YOI nurtures the rising and developing movement for youth power in NC!