On July 13th, 33 youth and adults from Extension and several organizations across Wisconsin met for a full day to plan for the 22nd annual Youth as Partners in Civic Leadership (YPCL) Conference, engaging in fun, interactive activities to set the stage for the full weekend in the fall.
The goal of the planning day was to develop a conference theme and logo, craft a weekend itinerary and develop a strategy for outreach and recruitment of organizations to attend. This year was significant in that there was a larger attendance, particularly of youth. Young people came from Racine, Washburn, Milwaukee and Dane Counties.
In its 22nd year, YPCL is a statewide, residential experience for organizations from across Wisconsin to collaborate, learn, teach and organize for local community solutions. In order to ensure that this work is led by both youth and adults, a summer planning day is a space to craft the content and implementation of the conference.
This planning day involved: reviewing evaluation of past conferences, creating an itinerary for the weekend, brainstorming potential workshops and generating ideas for keynote speakers. Planners took a tour of Upham Woods, participated in a gallery walk, created a theme and created a ‘logo design contest’. Thanks to Maria Gaytan Martinez, Emily Burger, Matt Calvert, Laura Pine and Annie Lisowski for supporting as well as City of Milwaukee Youth Council, Burlington Juntos 4-H, Project Kindred, Madison LaFollette High School Union Latina and Washburn and the Burnett County Extension Offices.
YPCL will take place Friday November 13-Sunday November 15th in Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center in Wisconsin Dells. Registration is now open. All youth registrants must be a part of a group that includes adults. Cost is $200 per person and includes lodging, meals, programming and a t-shirt. Financial support available upon request. To learn more, visit the YPCL webpage: https://4h.extension.wisc.edu/statewide-events-and-opportunities/youth-as-partners-in-civic-leadership/
