May 4, 2022
Photo courtesy of The Unity Council
A group of 39 girls and gender-expansive youth in Oakland, California are growing their leadership skills and learning new ways to speak out for their rights to stay healthy, finish school, and live a life free from violence.
The Unity Council’s Latinx Mentoring & Achievement program, in partnership with Rise Up, is adapting our Girls’ Voices Curriculum to train the young leaders, ages 13-18, on how to engage their local decision-makers using storytelling and communications campaigns, public forums, and strategic meetings.
During a recent session, the girl leaders learned how to create a “problem tree” so that they can understand how to analyze the root causes and effects of problems in their everyday lives.
The leaders plan to advocate on the following issues: lack of menstrual products in school, lack of access to resources and programs for low-income students, school closures, and a campaign against sexual harassment.
We look forward to sharing with you how these young California leaders apply what they’ve learned to advocate for issues that matter to them.
