Posted on January 9, 2018 at 10:03 AM by Communications Department
Last month, eight members of the Newport News Mayor’s Youth Commission, along with 4,000 local elected officials and delegates from around the country, met in Charlotte, N.C. for the National League of Cities 2017 City Summit.
Youth commission members engaged with other students, local leaders and councilmembers from around the nation to exchange ideas and learn from subject experts about economic mobility, youth homelessness, school safety, social media, urbanization and gentrification, and inclusion of diversity. It provided the Commissioners the opportunity to receive training in a conference environment and gain knowledge about how they can be most effective in their roles as youth leaders in local government. In addition to the scheduled activities, Newport News Department of Human Services Youth Services staff organized supplemental activities and excursions to provide more social engagement for the students. “I thought NLC was a great experience to meet youth from other councils across the nation. We learned what we can implement in our own Mayor’s Youth Commission,” said Nina Robertson of Peninsula Catholic High School.
Sohila Elziny, Mayor’s Youth Commission Chairperson, participated in the planning process for the youth portion of the conference and facilitated the session How Youth Councils Can Support Inclusion of Diverse Community Members in Your City. Jaison Washington of Woodside High School said, “NLC, for me, was a chance to hear the different perspectives from around our country and it taught me to look outside of the box. All the knowledge I gained from there I will take with me to the future of Newport News Mayor’s Youth Commission.”