Island Voice Presents: The 7th Annual Youth Empowerment Summit at Wagner College: “Know Your History”!

Staten Island, NY – [February 23, 2013] Island Voice Presents The Seventh Annual Youth Empowerment
Summit! On Saturday, February 23, 2013 between 12- 4:00 pm, at the Grymes Hill campus of Wagner
College, 630 Howard Avenue, Staten Island, New York, in Spiro Hall Room 2. The summit will feature
speakers, panelists & workshops from Arik Airlines, SheisSoMajor.com , NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant
Affairs, The Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council, The Eye Openers, The Council Of Young African Leaders,
Universal Temple of The Arts, CUNY Student services, Sara Ary – Middle Eastern Student Activist, The Curtis
High School Dream Club, Wagner College Nubian Club, The Wagner College Football Team, The NYPD,
Andre Harrison, author of ‘A Fatherless Father To His Sons’, The Asian American Student Advocacy Project,
Global Kids, The Caribbean Immigrant Association and many more.

“Appreciating the fruits of today is to know your roots. Today’s youth must appreciate their history and the
Island Voice Inc. Youth Empowerment Summit is a great demonstration that the youth are active and clear as
to what the future is all about- our community is indeed in safe hands.”
- Irwin G. Clare, Sr., OD Caribbean Immigrant Association

One of our feature workshops will be from The Future Project, a creative social enterprise that unlocks the
possibility in youths. At the summit they will host a “Make History” workshop where the youth attendees will
explore their talents and develop projects that will be monitored and developed by their assigned dream
directors throughout the year the projects are then funded by Future project.
Our Black History month segment features world-renowned poet, George Edward Tait ( Poet Laureate of Harlem)
and a riveting Harriet Tubman performance and African- American National Anthem by Christine Dixon.

This year Island Voice Inc. will be introducing the Island Voice Golden Image Awards that will be awarded to
three outstanding individuals & role models that have contributed to inspiring and empowering the younger
generation. The honorees include Laurie Cumbo, The Founder & Former Executive Director of MoCADA
cultural museum in Brooklyn (The Shirley Chisholm Award), Okenfe Lebarty Co-founder & VP Council
of Young African Leaders, President, AfriMETRO Inc (Island Voice Cultural Enrichment Award) , and Staten Island Olympic Boxer Marcus Browne ( The Capt. John Jackson Pioneer Award). The Liberian Market Women of Park Hill will be awarded
the (The Habiba Halilu Cultural Excellence Award).

Island Voice President and Youth summit creator Bobby Digi stated “This year’s summit is even greater than
last year’s summit packed with more fantastic organizations that share our common vision on youth
empowerment community development & cultural diversity, our mission to enrich the Staten Island community
& promote tolerance – we continue to reach out to the diverse community on and off Staten Island fostering
relationships that promotes the world as a global village “there is no place in the community for Island
mentality” we must all work as a collective to save the future thus the importance of motivating our future
generation today more than ever. Knowing your history allows you to direct your future since knowledge is
power. At Island Voice being a community resource agency, we task ourselves with connecting the community
with city and social agencies from the youths, seniors to small businesses and new immigrants. The Community
needs to be better informed, better prepared to survive ever-emerging challenges whether man made or natural.
Special Thank to our Annual venue Sponsor Wagner College facilitated through the History departments
courtesy of Lori R. Weintrob Chair and Assoc. Prof. History Department. We also thank all the numerous
organizations and volunteers that came aboard this year.

The 7th Annual Island Voice ‘Know Your History’ Youth Empowerment Summit is free. We also provide
lunch, snacks and goodie bags courtesy of Island Voice Inc. our partner organizations and sponsors.
We also provide service hours for student volunteers. This event will be interactive, entertaining and
educational.

About Island Voice Island Voice, Inc. is an emerging non-profit organization based on Staten Island with a
mission to act as a resource to actively engage in community development by offering solutions to promote
Economic Development and Empowerment Opportunities, Strategies to engage the Youth and to cultivate a
positive environment of unity amongst the African, African American and Caribbean Communities of Staten
Island. Island Voice will incorporate a series of special events to encourage and support financial literacy,
community development, job training and education – especially to benefit the youth. The organization plans to
engage and partner with political, religious, community civic and business leaders to help create a platform to
advance economic empowerment and create and sustain a vibrant arts and education platform to benefit a
largely underserved constituent. Island Voice Inc. Initiatives are immediately focused on Economic
Empowerment, Youth Advocacy ,Training, promotion and celebration of cultural history materialized through
the Annual Staten Island Black Cultural Arts and Heritage Day Festival &Parade (the first and Original African
heritage Parade on Staten Island. The Annual “Know Your History”! Youth Empowerment Summit, various
economic empowerment workshops, small businesses information sessions and numerous community town hall
meetings.

For those traveling by Ferry & The Wagner College Shuttle please download & view the schedule:
2011-Ferry-Shuttle-Schedule  
Contact:
Shereese Mullings
pr@islandvoice.org
Island Voice Inc.
Staten Island, NY 10304
www.islandvoice.org

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — As it heads into the seventh year bringing  Staten Island together for a day of conversation about pride, responsibility, unity and the future, the Youth Empowerment Summit at Wagner College Saturday seeks to uplift the borough’s increasingly diverse community of teens and young adults.

The free-of-charge, daylong “Know Your History” event, presented by the borough-based Island Voice and sponsored by dozens of city and state agencies, local businesses, not-for-profits, artists and academics, goes from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Grymes Hill college.  As in past years, Spiro Hall is expected to come alive with hundreds of participants of all backgrounds, engaging in conversation, watching musical and spoken word performances, and learning about themselves and each other. Free food and raffles are also part of the program.

“We have to continue to engage the younger generation so they’re suited to embrace the future, to understanding each other, understanding academia, the career world, being prepared,” said Bobby Digi, the president of Island Voice, who launched the event seven years ago, and has watched it grow from a smallish gathering to a vibrant  happening. “This year’s summit is even greater than last year’s summit, packed with more fantastic organizations that share our common vision on youth empowerment community development and cultural diversity.”

The summit will feature speakers, panelists and workshops from Arik Airlines, SheisSoMajor.com, the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council, the Eye Openers Youth Against Violence, Universal Temple of The Arts, CUNY Student services, Sara Ary – Middle Eastern Student Activist, the Curtis High School Dream Club, Suit Up Services, Wagner College Nubian Club, the Wagner College Football Team, the NYPD, Andre Harrison, author of “A Fatherless Father To His Sons,” the Asian American Student Advocacy Project, Global Kids, the Caribbean Immigrant Association and many more.

The day of activities, will also include the awarding of the first-ever Island Voice Golden Image Awards, given to role models who serve as an inspiration to the younger generation. Among the honorees will be Staten Island Olympic boxer Marcus Brown and the Liberian Market Women of Park Hill.

Source: Staten Island Advance

You’re Invited

to a

Candlelight Vigil

      Remembering

The 32 Americans murdered every day due to gun violence

at

The Staten Island Ferry Terminal in St. George

Friday February 22

from 5-6:30

Sponsored by the Gun Violence Prevention Coalition of Staten  Island

We are urging a vote on important gun safety legislation

For more information  contact Teresa Caliari 917-992-8731

By Omoh Vivienne

Yesterday has come and gone
For it we cannot have
A take two
The decisions of yesterday
Inform our today
And patterns our tomorrow

A past that is carved upon the platform
Of our mind
Like snap shots capturing
Every details as it is.

Today is our now
Our now, which is the
Very next second
The memoirs of yesterday
We shed
Knowing them as lessons
Learnt.

Tomorrow we hope, we know
As body and soul we plan as far as
Our five senses can allow.

The decisions of yesterday
Which is making today livable
Will bring better results
Tomorrow

Here today
Gone tomorrow
We lived yesterday
We are living today
But we hope to live
Tomorrow
Tomorrow is just
A day away
But difficult to say.