"Youth, creating a new
future through unity." This is the theme for an upcoming youth summit involving
teens from northern New Mexico who are trying to build bridges between
communities and cultures traditionally held separate. The summit is targeted at
ninth graders and is open to students up to the college level.
The youth named their
initiative JUNTOS, Spanish for "together" and an acronym for Joining &
Understanding Now, Teens Overcome Separation. To date, more than 70 students
from Espanola Valley High School and Los Alamos High School have participated in
JUNTOS activities and meetings. Recent attendees include students from McCurdy
and Pojoaque High Schools.
The program started almost
one year ago when several adult leaders shared an idea to promote a joint youth
leadership program linking the Espanola Valley and Los Alamos. These adults
agreed to support youth-led activities, including meetings at the high schools,
a workshop on racism, a team-building workshop, and an upcoming youth summit to
be held at Northern New Mexico College's El Rito campus on May 28-
29.
For more information
contact Lori Heimdahl Gibson at lorihg@swcp.com or
505-662-3159.