New @ YouthPride: 

Global YIELD Academy

(Youth Inclusion, Education, Leadership, and Development)

By Terence McPhaul, MA, NCSC

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQQ) communities everywhere continue to define identity, purpose and future. Youth also, have had a more active role in clarifying LGBTQQ needs. Youth, as well as those who were youth are increasingly aware of the need for preservation, future growth of, and understanding by members of the community, allies and others. YouthPride is taking an active step to grow leaders of tomorrow, today. We want to stay on the forefront of providing the best possible resources for LGBTQQ youth, and sharing the benefit of this with the rest of society.

Bullying anywhere, marriage, healthcare, as well as political and economic empowerment, are all issues that remain at the crest of the LGBTQQ agenda. In the spirit of YouthPride’s history of youth development, YouthPride is creating the Global (Youth Inclusion, Education, Leadership, and Development) Academy.

We’re not just talking about building future leaders we are providing a clear roadmap to purpose and success. YouthPride wants to build these leaders with workable realistic tools, incorporating a design which affords that this action framework will be distributed immediately throughout LGBTQQ communities globally.

Politics, education, economics, civil rights, leadership, health and wellness, international affairs, business ownership, cultural competence, and non-profit development are all components of the YIELD curriculum. Experienced teachers will lead the academy. Youth will complete an accelerated curriculum during the course of a year resulting in graduation. Graduates will offer technical support to other LGBTQQ youth centers, globally, through a residency program aimed at those looking to implement and enhance current programming in their own youth centers.

Organized groups from throughout the world will make application for a resident. After a series of interviews of the applicant organization and once a resident is granted, a youth will be dispatched for three months to the designated agency domestically, or internationally.

A greater push for true equality from the LGBTQQ community, Atlanta’s international platform, and YouthPride’s longstanding reputation for helping to build solid citizens make this the perfect time to launch a program which will add another level of depth to the future of LGBTQQ youth, LGBTQQ centered programs, and citizens everywhere.

The ultimate reward is being able to illustrate and clarify the link between local issues and global impact.

Calendar of Events

Click here to see our Google calendar of currently scheduled youth events

Newsletter

YouthPride OUTLoud - FALL 09

YouthPride OUTLoud - SPRING 09

YouthPride OUTLoud October 08