The Future of Student Voice and Our Democracy
Conference Week Session
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On this special kick off day, we will honor the contributions of Indigenous Americans and hold space for reflecting on their role in our democracy. Our opening plenary will ground us in purpose and in our theme as we dive into the essential part youth play in shaping our democracy now and into the future. We will begin with the voice of young people and their perspectives on what it will take to ensure they inherit a stable and just democracy. From there, Sarah Audelo, executive director of the Alliance for Youth Action, David Banks, president and CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation, Nikki Pitre, executive director of the Center for Native American Youth, and Andrew Wilkes, Generation Citizen’s senior director of policy and advocacy will take the stage for a discussion on cultivating the next generation of activists. Education and civic engagement funders, Gywnn Hughes of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and Sonia Matthew of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation will take up the question of how adult leaders can support youth voice.