Temple Youth VOICES Winter Showcase

Temple Youth VOICES Project participants showcased their accomplishments over the fall semester at a recent event held in the Student Activities Center on Temple's Campus. Dynamic groups of young people engaged the audience in a range of interactive activities designed to foster dialogue around issues of importance to youth. They also introduced several project proposals for the spring semester. This year, VOICES participants are gearing up to tackle the following issues:

• Making sex education in schools more interactive and responsive to young people's experiences, perspectives and concerns
• Exploring the influence of drugs on families and communities
• Investigating the impact of incarceration on families and communities

VOICES from the Experiment in International Living

“My first venture outside of the country's border was fantastic,” says Saeed Briscoe of his summer in Chile. Saeed is one of four Temple Youth VOICES participants to earn a scholarship last summer from the Experiment in International Living (EIL). Over the past five years, through a strong and growing partnership with EIL, VOICES participants have traveled to Italy, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, France and England. Rather than visit these countries as a tourist, the Experiment challenges young people to become part of the families and communities that host them, and provides opportunities for them to take part in a wide range of challenging activities, including community service, language instruction, outdoor education, and film and media arts production.

Although each of our scholarship winners has had a unique experience, they all come back with the same underlying message: Living in another country is life changing. Like her peers, Wyneisha Barrett was profoundly impacted by the weeks she spent in Spain this summer, “I've learned to live life to the fullest,” she reflects. “Whether it was in taking my first airplane flight, or speaking out to my group when I felt like something wasn't done properly, I've learned how to be more confident in myself, because what I have to say is important. I'm so grateful that I was chosen to travel abroad this summer. It truly helped me evolve as a person.”

Each year, 10th and 11th grade VOICES participants are eligible to apply for a scholarship with the Experiment in International Living. For more information about the program, see http://www.usexperiment.org or contact Tony Allen at 1-800-345-2929.

"Reporting From the Home Front: Families, Work and Money"

On November 12th a delegation of young leaders from the University Community Collaborative of Philadelphia (UCCP) addressed an audience of prominent journalists at a conference entitled “Reporting from the Home Front: Families, Work and Money,” convened by the Journalism Center on Children and Families. Held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the conference provided an opportunity for selected print, broadcast and on-line journalists from across the Mid Atlantic region of the U.S. to sharpen their understanding of, and ability to report on, issues stemming from poverty.

Among the conference presenters from the UCCP were three Temple students, one Temple alum and two Community College students who are planning on coming to Temple. Using specific examples from their lives, these young adults spoke with great wisdom and clarity about the challenge of setting and achieving goals in the face of poor public housing, an inadequate public education system and the criminal justice system's failure to support policies and programs that reduce recidivism.

After a powerful round of opening statements, the group answered questions posed by the conference participants. It was an important opportunity for the young presenters to both elaborate on their experiences and back up their conclusions. The audience was so captivated that individual follow-up conversations continued well into the lunch break that followed the presentations.

“Going to the conference was a rewarding experience for me,” said Temple Junior, Genisha Wallace, a Criminal Justice Major from Brooklyn, New York. “In all my experience with public speaking engagements, I have never felt that my opinion was more respected and admired. Society regards the media as a source for news, ideas and public opinion. Therefore, I was honored to inform reporters about important aspects of my life. I felt like I was speaking for positive people in my generation everywhere. On that day, in that room, I was able to dispel many of the myths and stereotypes that shape stories about inner city youth.”

Sponsored by the Journalism Center on Children and Families:
>>http://www.journalismcenter.org/

Temple Youth VOICES Spring 2008 Showcase

On May 8, 2007 VOICES participants culminated a year long exploration of education in Philadelphia schools with a presentation on their findings, opinions, suggestions, challenges and personal stories. A diverse audience comprised of VOICES youth, instructors, interns as well as families, friends and community members gathered in Tuttleman Hall on the Temple University campus for the event. The different youth comprised committees presented their material via PowerPoint slide shows, spoken word, poetry, audience quizzes and a documentary titled “Whose Tradition is it Anyway?” The presenters discussed such topics as the “No Child Left Behind Act”; the differences between traditional and non-traditional education techniques; the survey they conducted among ninety Philadelphia high school students and its results; the success, experiences and future plans for the Traveling Workshop which visited several local high schools over the winter and spring. A highlight of the event was the attendance of Mayoral candidate, Chaka Fattah, who was challenged to answer what, as Mayor, he would do to ensure that Philadelphia youth are more engaged, challenged and supported in their schools. The event culminated with a “Call to Action” and VOICES youth urged audience members to get involved in anyway possible with the education system in Philadelphia and with VOICES participants’ future work to create change in their schools.

"Investing in Urban Communities" Conference

On April 11, 2007, The Fox School of Business at Temple University will host its Second Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference: “Investing in Urban Communities: Balancing Growth & Inclusion”. This conference, co-sponsored by the Business School's Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the University Community Collaborative and the College of Liberal Arts, will feature investors, developers, university representatives and community organizations discussing the challenges faced by community-oriented investors as they “go to scale,” broaden their capital base and so face potentially conflicting pressures between various stakeholders. Through panel discussions and break-out workshops, this conference will explore whether or not governance structures help mediate these tensions and whether or not these structures enhance the flows of financial and social capital for entities (banks, developers), projects and markets (commercial corridors, neighborhoods, cities). Specific examples might include: the challenges faced by community-based investors or developers as they “go to scale”; the challenges private developers face when they attempt to seriously consider community concerns; the potentials and the pitfalls of community-private, or community-public-private development partnerships. For more information or to RSVP, please contact: T. L. Hill at >>thill@temple.edu