Youth Summits
Conclusion: The Future of Youth Summits
Looking at the four summits above [Delaware, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois], as well as youth summits from around the
country, some "best practices" emerge. Successful youth summits involve the
students themselves in some aspect of development-using their advice and opinions by
surveying them in advance, including them in planning on an advisory board, or using
topics of their choosing. Student involvement during the summit-debating, role-playing,
discussing, etc.-is also important: students show greater retention of learned skills when
they learned those skills through doing, and they show greater dedication to achieving the
goals of the summit when they had personal responsibility for developing those goals.
As members of Congress look for ways to reduce youth violence through legislation dealing
with everything from Internet filters to gun control, students, educators, and lawyers can
have real hands-on roles in preventing youth violence in their communities through
law-related education programs such as youth summits. In the fall of 1998, 89% of public
schools were connected to the Internet, progressing toward a congressional goal of 100% by
2000. Each new class of teachers incorporates Internet use into their curricula in greater
numbers (National Center for Education Statistics, 1999). With improvements in audiovisual
technology, and satellite and digital networks, youth summits can continue to link
students from around the United States and the world in ever more interactive ways,
accomplishing important outcomes.
Best Practices
- Youth involvement in the planning process
- Topics relevant to young peoples' lives
- Involvement of community members such as legislatures, social service agencies, and the
legal profession
>>OJJDP and Youth Summits
>>Lawyers Lead, Participate, and Support
>>Young People Across the U.S. Confront the Problems That
Affect Their Lives
>>Profiles: Addressing Concerns of Young Women; Solving
Problems in the Virtual World
>>Profile: The International Youth
Environmental Summit
>>A Closer Look at Exemplary Youth Summits: Delaware
>>A Closer Look at Exemplary Youth Summits:
Minnesota
>>A Closer Look at Exemplary Youth Summits: Oregon
>>A Closer Look at Exemplary Youth Summits: Illinois
>>Conclusion: The Future of Youth Summits; Best Practices
>>Resources and Links
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