Youth Driven Spaces Conference
Calling all Youth Leadership Councils, Youth Commissions, Youth Advisory Boards, and the like!
The 7th Annual Youth Driven Spaces Conference will take place on Saturday, April 27 from 10:00 to 4:00, at Eastern Michigan University's Student Center.
Our theme this year is the Concept of Self. Each participant will attend workshops where they’ll explore topics such as self-care, self-advocacy, self-defense, and self-improvement. We will also give out a total of $5,000 to 5-6 selected groups who apply to do project pitches. Organizations can register up to 7 teens and 2 adults. Lunch is included with registration.
Call for Proposals
One aspect of the Youth Driven Spaces Conference is having youth-led workshops and an opportunity for teens to pitch a youth-driven project in need of funding. Organizations can propose a workshop and apply to pitch a project if interested. IGNITE! members will contact proposal authors and pitch applicants in late March.
We will give out $5,000 to 5-6 selected youth groups who do a Youth Driven Project Pitch. As an example, 2023 Project Pitch recipients included a Banned Book Club and a Youth-led Healing Hub block party.
Project Pitches do not need to reflect the conference theme but should be conceived of and applied for by youth living in Southeast Michigan.
Applications for Youth Driven Project Pitches are due Friday, March 22, 2024 at 11:59pm
We are seeking youth-facilitated workshops related to this year's conference theme, CONCEPT OF SELF. Workshops will be between 45-60 minutes.
We encourage proposals that are designed by youth living in Southeast Michigan and connected to the conference theme — particularly those that highlight Self-Care, Self-Advocacy, Self-Defense, Self Expression, Self-Improvement, and Self Definition.
Past Conferences
2023: Transitioning to adulthood
The 2023 YDS Conference included teen-led workshops on Finances 101, Reproductive Justice and Contraception, Mental Health, Habitual/Responsible Voting, and Conscious Activism.
2022: Mental Health
Rescuing the conference from the confines of zoom, teens decided to focus this year's conference on the importance of mental health.
2019
With eight youth-driven workshops this year, we covered anything you could hope to foster in a youth driven space.
The First Ever YDS Conference
The one that began it all.
The first conference was different in many ways; location, sponsors, and even being held on a Sunday but the concept was a home run and set the foundations for the YDS Conference we know and love today.
Thanks to the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation for their generous support for this event!