Our 2017 theme was “Equality, Justice, Dignity for All” and focused on building power through partnering with others. We were so fortunate to be joined by local and international human rights advocates who shared their knowledge, feedback and advice. We welcomed 50 teens from 13 area districts to learn about national and international human rights topics.
Here were the highlights:
- We were joined by Professor David Crane, the founding Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, an international war crimes tribunal. Dr. Crane shared with us an update on Syria and what teens can do to help.
- We welcomed Colin Donnaruma, Esq., President of the Capital Region Chapter of the NY Civil Liberties Union. His work focuses on issues of economic and racial justice. He is a co-founder and an active member of Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration (CAAMI), a member of the Albany Social Justice Center, and NYS Labor Religion Coalition’s boards of directors.
- Lourds Lane founder of the SuperYou FUNdation, focused on inspiring children around the world to tap into their superhero powers, taught us about her UN sponsored program that has reached thousands of children.
- Nang Attal, recipient of the United Nations Youth Courage Award for his work on behalf of Afghan girls and young women, shared his experiences supporting girls’ education in Afghanistan.
- Holocaust survivor Ivan Vamos and child of survivors Harold Eisenstein shared how the Holocaust impacted their lives and what we can do to fight bigotry today.
- Jad Jacobs shared excerpts from his documentary “I Am Syria” and discussed his work with Syrian refugees.
- Rory Gerberg, Adrienne Hall Fellow at Harvard University, will discussed women’s rights and how young people can make a difference.
- Jack Einstein, founder of the I AM HUMAN project gave us tools to support LGBT+ rights in schools.
To learn how our 2017 class is giving back, visit our “Why attend” page.