When teens take the lead: Inside PA Humanities’ youth-led approach

Julia Katz stands, smiling, wearing a mustard-colored top, at the front of the room in the background while a group of women who are attendees at the Youth-Led Humanities Community Culture Changers convening are seated around round tables, smiling and laughing.

What does it look like to create humanities-based programming that teens don’t just attend, but actually help shape and keep coming back to? That question is at the heart of Youth-Led Humanities, one of PA Humanities’ core programs. Hear from Julia Katz, PA Humanities’ Education Program Manager, about what it means to be youth-led, why this approach works, and how Youth-Led Humanities—and new training opportunities for libraries and youth-serving organizations—are helping adults think about how they partner with young people.

Young people ‘adulting,’ leading a change in narrative about Chester

In a community where outside narratives often focus on the negative, Tara Jones is helping young people use their voice to illuminate the positive. Jones created the Chester Cultural Arts & Technology Center in Chester, Pa., to be a resource for residents of the city, and it’s now also a place where young adults and teens can explore the topics that matter to them and make themselves heard well beyond the borders of Chester through their own podcasts.

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