Each year, the Global Kids Annual Youth Conference brings together approximately 500 young people, primarily from New York City public high schools, and 100 educators for a youth-led event that addresses a youth-selected international issue. The event is organized and carried out by youth in GK's Power of Citizenry Leadership Program (the GK Leaders), who participate in a rigorous training process, select the conference theme, choose the event's guest speakers, and, working with experts and GK staff members, develop and conduct interactive workshops for their peers on issues related to the conference theme.

In recent years, themes have included Global Health, Politics, and the Environment, and guest speakers have come from such groups as the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, UNICEF, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Wall Street Journal, among many others. The conference also includes performances by a range of musicians and artists, as well as the young people who participate in Global Kids' Undesirable Elements theatre project.

As the culminating event for the youth involved in the Power of Citizenry Leadership Program, the Annual Conference provides the GK Leaders with a space to demonstrate their growth in our programs. The youth involved commit countless hours to the program and many of them identify organizing the conference as one of the most important events of their high school careers.

The Annual Conference is also a life-changing event for the youth who attend. Many of them comment that the event is one of the few forums in which youth are trusted with challenging international content and given an opportunity to voice their opinions about critical world issues. As a result, many young people join our programs following the event and many educators request Global Kids services in their schools or refer students to GK's leadership programs.

To learn more about this year's Annual Conference, please click here.