February 21, 2013
Island Voice Inc. Presents The 7th Annual Youth Empowerment Summit: Press Release 0
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