Orange County Human Relations celebrates the 31 graduates who completed our 2019 BRIDGES Youth Leadership Institute. Diverse youth from 15 different schools across Orange County met for a 5-day institute geared toward developing leadership skills and empowering youth to improve human relations within their own schools by taking a stand against hate. Students participated in activities and dialogue surrounding social justice and human relations issues and developed community building skills through interactive sessions such as ice breakers, and various workshops that allowed them to brainstorm projects to bring back to their schools. OC Human Relations’ BRIDGES and Restorative Justice staff taught students how to facilitate restorative dialogue in circle structures by first learning the structure and then implementing the technique to develop and facilitate circles of their own. Students learned the history of the BRIDGES program as well as the history of civil rights issues within Orange County. They learned the power and value in restorative communication and communities, and were trained in the 6 Steps of Kingian Non-Violence.
At the end of the institute, students reflected on the tools they had learned throughout their 5 days together and how they can implement the skills they learned and built upon in their own schools and lives. Families of each participant were invited to join as graduates were celebrated and recognized for their successful completion of the institute.
For more information see our BRIDGES Youth Leadership Institute page
