2002 Young Women's Health Summit

Press release -- HHS Launches New Health Web Site for Girls

The 2002 National Young Women's Health Summit sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health will be held in Washington, DC, July 31st through August 3rd.

Goals:

To foster the development of community based health awareness programs through the efforts of young women, mentors, parents and local community groups. Using educational sessions that develop skills, foster intergenerational communication, and share critical health information, the Summit will strive to alert young women to positive self, family and community health promotion activities - leading to greater health consciousness and better health decision-making among individuals, families, and communities across the nation.

Objectives:

• To convene young girls, parents, and mentors from across the nation to discuss health issues facing young women and girls, their families, and their communities.
• To provide, disseminate, and discuss health information that will promote healthy lifestyles.
• To promote positive images of young women and girls in the media and community.
• To foster the development of strong intergenerational and intra-family communication skills between young women, parents, and mentors.
• To support the maturation of young women and girls into leaders through skill building and the formation of mentoring relationships between young and older women.
• To establish a network for interaction, information and community action for young women and girls.

Format of the Summit:

The Summit will be convened over four days, between July 31st and August 3rd, 2002 and will bring together young women, parents, and mentors from around the nation. The first half-day will provide participants time to register and get to know each other. All participants will convene for dinner, setting of summit ground rules, and an opening presentation.

The second full-day will open with a plenary session, followed by moderated sessions for youth, parents, and mentors on identifying key health and social issues for each group and skill-building on communication, presentation, and taking action on these issues within your family and community.

The third full-day will include educational sessions for young women on nutrition, physical activity, body image, eating disorders, and overweight; mental health, self-esteem, and discrimination; promoting community health; life after high school; and dating, family, and community violence. Concurrent sessions will be held for parents on: parents as models - healthy eating and physical activity; working with mentors to support young women; family and community violence, and community involvement. A special session will be offered for mentors to provide training and guidance around their role as mentors at the Summit and ways to support young women and their families after the Summit. The third full-day will close with a performance on "Dispelling the Myths" - an interactive performance addressing critical health issues facing young women, their families and communities.

The fourth half-day will offer young women an opportunity to share past and current home projects to promote health and healthy behaviors in their communities. The half-day will close with a plenary session and allow time for an optional site visit in the afternoon.

Sponsored Attendees:

Young women were selected in two age groups, 12-14 and 15-17, from throughout the nation according to the applications received. Sponsored attendees include both new and returning young women and girls in order to achieve both continuity between previous Summits and to assure the broadest possible impact for the Summit's take-home messages. These young women will play a critical role in carrying the Summit's health promotion messages home through their involvement in new or continuing projects to promote women's health in their families and communities.

Sponsored Mentors:

In order to respond to the needs of the young women and to develop a support system to foster future community-based health promotion activities, the Summit will also include a track for mentors. Like the young women and parents, mentors were selected from around the nation via a competitive application process. The mentors' role will be to serve as the primary contact person for the sponsored attendees throughout the Summit and in their subsequent efforts to develop and promote health projects in their communities after the summit. Mentors will play an important role in maintaining the momentum and fostering future action in their communities.

Sponsored Parents:

Parents were also be selected via a competitive application process. The application process was open to all parents, regardless of whether or not they have a daughter attending the Summit. Sessions will be designed to share important health information with parents as well as to provide skill-building opportunities to improve communication between parents, young women, and mentors. Parents will play an important role in maintaining the momentum and fostering future action in their communities.