Enlaces News #9 (May 2005)

Latino Youth Add Vibrant Voice
to NALACC November Meeting

In November 5, 2004 a group of over 30 youth leaders representing National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Community (NALACC) member organizations met in Los Angeles to share experiences and discuss policy issues of specific concern to young immigrants and children of immigrants. The meeting took place just prior to the NALACC general assembly in November. NALACC members sponsored the event as a means to build multi-generational leadership in the Alliance.

The youth conference gave young leaders from community-based groups a space to get to know each other and build alliances with peers in organizations around the country. The youth who gathered for the meeting ranged in ages from 15-26 and represented several countries in Latin
America and the Caribbean. They arrived not knowing one another, but willing to make a connection.

As part of the conference, the youth leaders selected themes and issues that directly affect their families and their communities. They identified immigration reform, violations of civil and human rights, education reform (including access to higher education), and health care access as priorities. They also stressed the importance of giving young people leadership roles in order to build successful organizations and movements over the long term.

The following statements express the consensus of the NALACC youth meeting on issues that were important to them:

• Immigration: “Immigration is a barrier that affects the identity and potential of our Latino youth”

• Education: “No education, no successful future”

• Leadership: “Our vision is our legacy”

• Civil Rights: “Liberty to decide and demand your rights as a human being”

The youth leaders have continued to meet via telephone since the November meeting and have developed a joint work plan for engaging young people in NALACC. CARECEN (Central American Resource Center) in Los Angeles has recently taken on the formal coordination of the NALACC youth affinity group and will work with these dynamic young people to help them grow and develop as leaders, both in their communities and at the national level.

At a time when negative and pessimistic portrayals of young people dominate the media, the organizational and leadership savvy qualities demonstrated by NALACC youth is both an inspiration and a lesson. The truth is that today’s young people—like those of any other time—are starving for opportunities to get involved. NALACC’s youth leaders are proving that given the proper guidance and trust in their ability to think and act independently, young people can work effectively with each other and their adult counterparts to make a better world possible.