Project 3:  Focus on the Native Family

Principal Partner:  United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc., Another partner to be named. Action Committee Chairman:  Joshua Tso, Male Co-President, National UNITY Council, Executive Committee  (josh@pnyteam.org) Project Date: Project to take place in July 2008 Objective:  to share information with the expected 1,250 Native youth and their advisers, who attend the 2008 National UNITY Conference in Reno, NV, that may prove useful in their efforts the strengthen Native families within their respective communities.

Project Description: It is expected that at least 1,250 youth, parents, and youth advisors will attend the 2008 National UNITY Conference in Reno, Nevada. Each year a series of activities and workshops take place at the conference that focus on various issues that affect Native American youth. This year, as a part of the National Initiative, a major emphasis will be placed on issues affecting Native families.

Those in attendance at the conference will receive a packet of information containing a summary report on the activities that will have taken place as a part of the National Initiative. The packet will contain printed materials produced as part of the Initiative related projects, such as posters and brochures, as well as a DVD(s) containing digitized reports and data collected in support of and as a part of the Initiative. The DVD will also contain edited versions of videos taken during Initiative related activities, such as those taken during various Webcasts, talking circles, interviews, training sessions, and youth council hosted family events.

Initiative related activities that will take place during the conference will include a series of workshops that will be presented by youth councils that have been active in planning and carrying out Initiative related activities. Some of the workshop presentations will offer “how to” advice for youth council members who may have an interest in conducting an Initiative related project. Others will focus on sharing the knowledge gained through the Initiative related activities that may be used by other youth councils, Native youth groups and interested organizations in their efforts to further promote the over all goal of strengthening Native families. A conference plenary session will be devoted to the National Initiative to Strengthen Native Families, at which a summary report will be presented to showcase the projects that will have taken place prior to the conference. All presentations will be made by youth council members who were active in planning and executing the various projects reported on. The proceedings of this plenary session will be Webcast (streamed to the Internet) live for viewing by those interested youth and others who are unable to attend the conference.

During the National UNITY Council's Annual Business Meeting (to be held at a time during the conference) the members will consider actions to pursued between the close of the conference and the end of September, which marks the National Initiative's completion date.

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