AT&T Young Leaders Launch "Teens on the Move" Web Site

[Wendy Rivenburgh]

Pleased to pass along this news to the list...

<p>PRESS RELEASE

America Connects Consortium at
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02458

Contact:
Wendy Rivenburgh  617.618.2159  wrivenburgh at edc.org
Ken Rafanan  650.323.9184    ken at openvoice.org

<p>          AT&T Young Leaders Launch "Teens on the Move" Web Site

NEWTON, MA ? (July 30, 2001) ? The voices of youth are coming through l=
oud
and clear, and they're saying "It's up to us!"  According to Xavier Car=
r of
New Jersey, "Just remember that discrimination is something that should=
n't
happen but it still happens and it's up to us to change all the hate by=

dealing with it the right way."

Xavier and nine other teens make up the first class of AT&T Young Leade=
rs,
a select group of youth who are addressing important issues of the day =
and
taking leadership roles in their communities.

A project of the America Connects Consortium, in collaboration with
OpenVoice and sponsored by the AT&T Foundation, the AT&T Young Leaders
Program brings together young people who have a special commitment to
helping others and to challenging themselves with new technologies in t=
heir
local community technology centers.  Linsey Whittaker of Florida
exemplifies this special commitment: "I really enjoy working with the k=
ids
at my center because we all learn something new from each other every d=
ay."

This week the Young Leaders launched "Teens on the Move" (
http://www.ontheline.org/teensonthemove/), a web site and interactive f=
orum
where they report on and facilitate conversations about issues such as
discrimination, relationships, and faith.  This site is part of the
OpenVoice flagship site, Ontheline.org, which has a user community of o=
ver
50,000 teens and gets more than 200,000 hits a week.  True to the
initiative's youth focus, Teens on the Move is coordinated by OpenVoice=

teen staff member Nora Raz=F3n.  OpenVoice Executive Director Ken Rafan=
an
notes that, "This opportunity for the young people to have such a high
profile and to take leadership responsibility during the program itself=

ets the AT&T Young Leaders Program apart from many youth development
initiatives."  Moreover, "in our program, youth are fully recognized fo=
r
their potential to be online content producers as well as consumers," s=
ays
Laura Breeden, Director of the America Connects Consortium.

Leadership Activities

Following their kick-off event at the Community Technology Centers' Net=
work
Conference in June, the Young Leaders have been involved in mentoring,
training, and other program activities at their local community technol=
ogy
centers.  Their experiences and reflections on various issues, includin=
g
what it means to be a leader in their communities, form the basis of th=
eir
articles, which will be posted online throughout the summer.  In Septem=
ber
2001, they will conduct an online panel for community technology
practitioners, youth workers, and peers, discussing the challenges and
opportunities facing young leaders.

Aaron Dilyou of Utah has identified what he sees as one of the key
challenges, "We as youth need to do something to change the stereotypes=

people have about us.  It's not fair that we are judged as one and not =
as
individuals!"  With these words, he captures the spirit of his fellow t=
eens
and people of his generation across America who embrace diversity.

"I think my community is a rich community 'cause we have so many differ=
ent
cultures to learn from," says Tiffany Spriggs of New York.  "That to me=
 is
the most important thing in any community."  By participating in this
program, Tiffany and her fellow Young Leaders have accepted the challen=
ges
and opportunities of leadership in this information age.  Taking seriou=
sly
the idea that "It's up to us," they are pursuing their mission to ensur=
e
that young people are heard and heeded in their communities and beyond.=

<p>Background Information

The inaugural class of AT&T Young Leaders includes Jacquelin Al-Ghamdi =
de
Pena of Yakima County Substance Abuse Coalition, Washington; Ronelle
Barrett of Village Parks Apts. Computer Resource Center, Scranton,
Pennsylvania; Xavier Carr of Browns Woods Neighborhood Networks Center,=

Browns Mills, New Jersey; Aaron Dilyou of Sorenson Technology Center, S=
alt
Lake City; Abigail Garrett of Southeast Kansas Education Center, Greenb=
ush,
Kansas; Gussie Pettis of Street-Level Youth Media, Chicago; Hope Samuel=
 of
BNN Multimedia Center, Boston; Tiffany Spriggs of Southeast Bronx
Neighborhood Centers, Inc., New York; Todd Tullis of Fast Forward,
Columbia, South Carolina; and Linsey Whittaker of Town Park Plaza North=

Neighborhood Networks Center, Miami.

The America Connects Consortium (http://www.americaconnects.net) is a
collaboration of eight partners and allied organizations who are workin=
g
together to bring information, training, technical assistance, public
attention, and new resources to community technology centers across the=

country.  The Consortium is funded by a $2 million contract with the Of=
fice
of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education.

OpenVoice: Online Communities by teens for teens (http://www.openvoice.=
org)
is a groundbreaking nonprofit corporation based in East Palo Alto, CA.
Launched in April 1998, OpenVoice trains local teens to develop critica=
l
thinking and technical skills through the creation of web-based media. =
 The
teen staff develop their academic, technological, and entrepreneurial
skills while they pioneer new spaces on the Internet that empower youth=
 of
all races, geographical locations, and economic backgrounds to learn,
interact, and role model for each other.

The AT&T Foundation (http://www.att.com/foundation/) invests globally i=
n
projects that are at the intersection of community needs and AT&T's
business interests.  Emphasis is placed on programs that serve the need=
s of
people in communities where AT&T has a significant business presence,
initiatives that use technology in innovative ways, and programs in whi=
ch
AT&T employees are actively involved as contributors or volunteers.

<p>*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*
Wendy Rivenburgh
Education Specialist
America Connects Consortium
http://www.americaconnects.net

Center for Education, Employment, and Community
Education Development Center
55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02458
617.618.2159  Fax 617.332.4318
wrivenburgh at edc.org