Curriculum and Schedule

The Summit is full of workshops and activities that enable young people to learn, lead, and empower themselves and their peers.

Curriculum for Summit 2013

Building Knowledge and Understanding of Important Global Issues

• Child Trafficking. We’ll welcome Hussainatu and Hassanatu Blake, the twin sisters who founded Focal Point Global, who will lead a workshop on the topic of child trafficking. About their organization: “Addressing the need for global youth-peer education, Focal Point Global delivers global-minded, technological innovated learning to youth in the US, Cameroon, and Namibia, in order to create the ethical leaders of tomorrow.”
• Education for All (Girl Rising). We’ll be screening the exciting new film, Girl Rising, produced by a media partner of Plan International USA’s, 10x10. About the film: “Girl Rising spotlights the stories of unforgettable girls born into unforgiving circumstances”—and emphasizes the importance of education for all children.
• Media and Representation (“Visualizing Humanity”). We’ll welcome Lina Srivastava and Linda Raftree, Plan's Senior Advisor, who will lead a workshop called “Visualizing Humanity,” which examines some of the ways that "the poor" are portrayed in marketing materials and the media, and also encourages us to to re-think how we see, learn from and listen to those that we want to support.
• Water and Sanitation. Members of Plan’s own expert Water, Sanitation, and Health (WASH) team will lead a workshop on the importance of clean water in communities around the world. Water changes everything!
• Youth Empowerment. All of our sessions that focus on our network, Youth United for Global Action and Awareness (YUGA), will deal explicitly with youth empowerment as a method of raising awareness and creating change.

Developing Skills in 21st Century Leadership and Teamwork

• Campaign Planning. We’ll meet with YUGA members past and present to get advice on running campaigns and hosting awareness-raising events, and then plan new campaigns for the coming school year.
• Facilitation.All participants are encouraged to take a turn facilitating an icebreaker game, group activity, or entire workshop.
• Gender Equality + Online Activism. We’ll welcome Sam Meier of PolicyMic, a news and analysis website for millennials. She writes, edits, manages, and promotes writing on a variety of social justice topics, and she will be leading a workshop on online activism and organizing.
• Oppression and Equality. We’ll welcome Laurie Jo Wallace, the Director of Training and Capacity Building at Health Resources in Action (HRiA) in Boston, MA. She will be leading a training on the topics of oppression and equality, as well as the skills that young people need to work for social justice in their schools and communities.
• Presentation and Public Speaking
• Service Learning. We’ll be performing community service in and around Bristol, Rhode Island, and we’re looking forward to learning through volunteering!
• Voting and Elections. At the end of the Summit, we'll elect new members of the YUGA Steering Committee, practicing the democratic process.

Creating Cross-Cultural Connections and Strengthening Community

• Dancing and Drumming
• Scavenger Hunt
• Swimming
• Talent Show
• Team Games