MD Middle School and High School Youth Collaborate
By Melor Suhaimi, MD Programs Manager
Photos Courtesy of Melor Suhaimi
On Saturday, March 14th, AALEAD’s MD middle and high school Youth Council leaders came together to discuss and meet about future collaborative projects. Even though the school year is coming to an end, there are upcoming projects and events that our MD Youth Council leaders are planning for. With the first meeting of the year that included both AALEAD’s MD middle and high school Youth Council leaders, the meeting kicked off with a quick icebreaker that provided a sense of togetherness among the middle and high school youth. Youth Council leaders were asked to create sculptures using their body based on words such as leadership, empowerment, and identity; which highlights AALEAD’s program goals.
Once AALEADers got to know each other a little more, Youth Council leaders dove right in to begin planning for this year’s youth media project. Last year, Gandhi Brigade, a local non-profit organization, encouraged youth organizations in the region to create film projects to highlight youth issues. AALEADers participated and created two videos on stereotypes and identity. This year, AALEAD will participate again and will be creating a video on this year’s theme of cyber-bullying. The meeting allowed middle and high school Youth Council leaders to begin talking about possible storylines and the importance of highlighting the effects of cyber-bullying. Youth Council leaders will meet again this Friday and will continue to meet in the next few weeks to finish the film!
Our high school Youth Council leaders shared their experiences with AALEAD’s Asian Pacific American Youth Summit, along with expressing the need for middle school Youth Council leaders to help with planning this year’s Summit! Our middle school Youth Council leaders will get the opportunity to help with this year’s talent show portion of the Summit and assist with planning committees, which include public relations, registration, and food & entertainment. It will be the first Summit where middle school youth will get a big opportunity to help with the Summit planning process. As the meeting came to a close, middle and high school youth felt a sense of unity and felt excited to work together on future projects!
