Alaska Youth Summit coming to Talkeetna

Frontiersman staff

TALKEETNA — The first Alaska Youth Summit, a forum where young people can discuss the challenges they face from their own experiences and develop recommendations to improve their life opportunities, is being held in Talkeetna Oct. 19-22.

The event is being sponsored by U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski and the Waterfall Committee, a nonprofit charity dedicated to improving the health of women and youth in Alaska. The summit is being supported entirely from private funds.

The Alaska Youth Summit will bring young people from across the state to the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge to discuss the challenges facing them as teens. Those who participate will get leadership experience and be responsible for carrying the ideas of their peers back to their communities.

The Alaska Youth Summit will expose young people to data about the challenges related to substance abuse, violence, education and jobs that confront their peers around the State and some ideas for improving their circumstances.

At the conclusion of the event, recommendations adopted by the participants will be made available to policy makers, community and youth organizations and schools throughout Alaska. Alaska Youth Summit representatives, selected by the participants, will deliver the recommendations to Washington, D.C., to the president and Congress, as well as to Juneau to the governor and the Alaska Legislature.

The Alaska Youth Summit representatives will return to the next Alaska Youth Summit to report on their experiences and observations and help refine the Alaska Youth Summit recommendations. All expenses are covered through funding. Applications are due July 15.

Fore more information, people may visit the Web site http://www.akyouthsummit.com or call 1-866-259-6884.