YOUTH SPEAKS CREATES SAFE SPACES TO EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS, SELF-DEFINED ARTISTS, AND VISIONARY ACTIVISTS THROUGH WRITTEN AND ORAL LITERACIES. WE CHALLENGE YOUTH TO FIND, DEVELOP, PUBLICLY PRESENT, AND APPLY THEIR VOICES AS CREATORS OF SOCIETAL CHANGE. ULTIMATELY, WE HOPE TO SHIFT THE PERCEPTIONS OF YOUTH BY COMBATING ILLITERACY, ALIENATION, AND SILENCE, CREATING A GLOBAL MOVEMENT OF BRAVE NEW VOICES BRINGING THE NOISE FROM THE MARGINS TO THE CORE. SINCE 1996, YOUTH SPEAKS HAS CHAMPIONED A LOCALIZED, NATIONAL, AND INCREASINGLY GLOBAL MOVEMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE BOLDLY DECLARING THEMSELVES PRESENT.