The Maine Youth Action Network will host its annual Youth Leadership Conference Wednesday and Thursday, March 29 and 30, at the Bangor Cross Insurance Center.

More than 300 Maine youth in grades 7-12 and their adult advisors will attend the event and can learn how to be effective leaders in their communities around issues like youth substance use prevention, school climate, challenging bias and racism, healthy relationships, adolescent mental health, and commercial tobacco use prevention, according to a news release from the network.

The two-day conference will feature skill-building workshops about leadership development, community engagement, and advocacy, as well as peer networking opportunities, panel discussions and more.

Young people of many demographics from across the state play an active role in planning, organizing, hosting and presenting at the conference. This year, participants will come from every Maine county, as well as from all five of Maine’s tribal communities.

The Youth Planning Team, composed of 12 youth from across Maine, play an integral part in deciding the content of the event. The conference offers young people and their adult allies the chance to gather crucial resources and skills they need to make the change they want to see in their communities.

This year a selection of poetry, recorded by Maine Inside Out, will be shared, as well as a performance by the Freeport High School Chamber Choir. In addition, members of the Maine Legislature will talk about policy issues that impact youth, and participants can meet with legislators and discuss the best strategies for reaching out to members of the Maine Legislature.

For more information, contact Nicole Manganelli at nicole.manganelli@opportunityalliance.org or call 553-5916.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.