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| PITTSBURGH (May 26, 2022) – The Women and Girls Foundation (WGF) will hold from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 4, the event GirlGov in Action: Implementing Feminist Futures – a day-long program at the Wyndham Pittsburgh University Center in Oakland that will teach GirlGov participants how to implement change through community organizing and local politics. GirlGov is WGF’s civic engagement program for high school-aged teens that prepares participants to be change-makers and leaders. Since its inception in 2005, more than 1,000 teens have participated in WGF youth-centered programming. This event will be divided into sessions that will teach participants about the different levels of government on both the state and federal level and how they connect with policy enactment. Sessions will be led by GirlGov alumni. Disability rights advocate Alisha Grishman, Councilperson Erika Strassburger and community organizer Nia Arrington are among the guests that also will participate in sessions. Teens will have the opportunity to participate in a simulation exercise where they’ll step into the shoes of a legislator and learn how to make difficult decisions. “This event is one I have been looking forward to for months. Civics and policy is something that truly is a big part of my ‘why,’” says Alexis Walker, GirlGov program manager. “Being able to share my passions with the teens in hopes they too find appreciation for these topics is so exciting because many of them do not get exposed to civic education that is current and bipartisan. I think that is what makes GirlGov such a beautiful place. If we teach youth how our nation’s political system works early on, they will be more likely to remain civically engaged in all aspects.” This event will expose the GirlGovers to civic knowledge that will help them to promote systemic change in their own communities. They will also have the chance to bond and create a community of empowered changemakers. To register to attend the retreat, please visit the website. If you would like to join the closing ceremony and legislative roundtable discussion, please RSVP using this Google form. To learn more, follow along on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (@WGFPA) or visit the website at wgfpa.org. |
