Global Kids Youth Examined Criminal Justice Reform at the 2019 Annual Youth Conference

NEW YORK - May 23, 2019 - PRLog -- New York, NY - - Nearly 500 students, educators, and guests gathered at Hunter College for the 2019 Global Kids Annual Youth Conference. Led by the twenty-five GK youth conference planners, the youth-produced event was the culmination of a five-month planning process. As part of Global Kids' flagship leadership program, The Power of Citizenry (POC), the annual youth conference provided students with the opportunity to select a theme, research related issues, and develop workshops to educate their peers. This year, participants explored the topic of criminal justice reform both locally and globally.

"As a second time GK conference planner, as well as a senior, I think we all came together to make something that was our own and truly got across the message that the world needs to bring attention to how incarcerated people are treated," stated Damian M., a GK Leader from Brooklyn College Academy.

Workshops covered various issues related to criminal justice including prisoner's rights, racism and discrimination, incarceration of minors, political prisoners, war on drugs impact, and more. Each workshop featured a short presentation by an expert or activist. Morning and afternoon plenary sessions featured speakers working on criminal justice reform along with creative performances from Global Kids youth and Ping Chong's Undesirable Elements. Coverage was on Global Kids' social media channels with the hashtag #GK2019Conference. A full live stream recording of both plenary sessions can be found on our Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/GlobalKidsInc/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/globalkids) pages.

"This is our 30th anniversary year as an organization and our 30th annual youth conference," said Evie Hantzopoulos, Executive Director of Global Kids. "Our conference is youth-devised and youth-led, and it's always inspiring to see how capable they are in creating a dynamic, thought-provoking and thoughtful experience for their peers."

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About Global Kids: Global Kids, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization for global learning and youth development, works to ensure that youth from underserved communities have the knowledge, skills, experiences, and values they need to succeed in school, participate effectively in the democratic process, and achieve leadership in their communities. Global Kids educates, activates and inspires youth from underserved communities to take action on critical issues facing our world. Global Kids is celebrating 30 years of award-winning, innovative programming this year.

www.globalkids.org.  137 East 25th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10010.