The 11th annual Global Youth Day conference will be held at 201 McDonnel St.  Registration is now open and is free to all youth at www.kwic.info/GYD2014 or by phone at 705-748-1680.     

Global Youth Day is an annual conference that brings over 100 local youth together in Peterborough's downtown to participate in global education and leadership training. As an arts-based conference, Global Youth day uses creative, hands-on and participatory workshops and projects to promote critical thinking and community engagement around global issues and their local connections. The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Globalization, Health and Poverty’. The day will start with a dynamic and inspiring address from keynote speaker Yi-Min Chun, named a 2014 'Global Changemaker' by the Ontario Council for International Cooperation.  The keynote address will explore what it means to be a global citizen and empowering youth to take positive action for a healthy, poverty free world.   

In the morning sessions, youth can choose to attend one of four two-hour workshops on topics such as 'colonialism, development and environment', 'women, poverty and health', 'mental health in a global world' and 'HIV/AIDS in the North and South'. After a networking lunch, youth will work on one of four arts-based projects with local artists, engaging in some hands-on creative work as an opportunity to reflect and take action on the themes explored in the keynote address and workshops. Art projects include puppetry, spoken word, zine publishing and mural making.  Youth who participated in last year's conference said: "I learned that change is easier to do if you get together and act it out, not just talk about it"; "I was inspired to see all of the passion that people in our community have to sustain our world"; "I came expecting a conference and found a passionate community excited to teach me about global issues".   

Contact Nicole Gagliardi at youth@kwic.info or 705-748-1680 for more information.  

Posted on Friday, March 21, 2014.