Exploring Identity and Lifting Youth VOICES Lola Akintobi

Exploring Identity and Lifting Youth VOICES Lola Akintobi Massachusetts Department of Public Health April 7, 2018

VOICES Valuing Our Insights For Civic Engagement (VOICES) is a six-session workshop Created in partnership with the Posse Foundation, VOICES highlights leadership and civic engagement The curriculum compliments teen sexual health by giving youth space to explore and discuss their identities, communities, and their agency to make change as community leaders

Goals Provide space for groups to share personal experiences and identities Develop leadership skills to use in their individual lives and communities Participants understand the value of their voice and experiences in decision making Build youth leadership capacity and identify youth leaders as representatives at local and state levels

Identity Walk

Processing Start broadly and gather information What was this activity like for you? What feelings came up for you? Focus the discussion Do you usually talk about your identities or issues related to your identities? Are there places where you feel like you can’t talk about your identities? Summarize and make connections Why do you think we started with a workshop about identity? Why is it important for leaders to know about their own identities?

Contact Lola Akintobi Capacity Building Coordinator Massachusetts Department of Public Health Lola. akintobi@state. ma. us