On Friday, November 15, 2024, over 160 passionate youth advocates and transportation safety professionals gathered at the Marriott Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, for the Youth Transportation Summit. This event provided a unique platform for attendees to engage with the latest research, best practices, and innovative strategies aimed at combating risky traffic behaviors. The Summit featured a series of insightful sessions and breakout discussions, fostering collaboration and inspiring attendees to drive positive change in their communities.
Lisa Minjaries-Kyle, TTI’s Youth Transportation Safety Program Manager, set the stage for the event and reminded each person in the room that without them our mission to educate and empower youth to create a safer transportation system wouldn’t be possible. This full-day event consisted of eight sessions each with their knowledge experts and interactive elements to keep youth charged up, networking, and encouraging some friendly competition.
The event highlights below are from our Teen Advisory Board members.
Session Review by Dalya Gorgees: Road Tales – Harnessing the Power of Storytelling
A compelling speaker presented at the summit where he explored the craft of storytelling and emphasized the necessity of sharing our personal stories. He began by stating, “You know my name, not my story” to remind everyone that each one of them has a tale to share. He highlighted the significance of keeping everyone interested by making content memorable and ensuring that it is relevant to them. “How do you communicate with others about something they don’t care about?” he questioned the audience, recommending that the key is to craft stories that are genuine and emotionally appealing. The speaker highlighted that storytelling is a matter of trial and error and that with continuous practice and effort, everyone can improve their communication skills. He urged everyone to speak up, to embrace their confidence, and to understand that the most impactful stories are the ones that reflect who we truly are. His advice for composing an interesting story included figuring out what resonates with you, picking meaningful characters, building a captivating setting, and incorporating emotions and conversations that are relevant to your audience. He even made a joke about how “these days everyone should want to write especially with ChatGPT”, before reminding us that the purpose is to educate, motivate, and change lives through the stories we share. Finally, he urged the importance of patience, considering the consequences of actions before taking them, and to always remember that saying “no” is something we are able to decide. In the end, it was a powerful call to action where he encouraged everyone to start sharing, communicate openly, and use narrative to its full potential in our daily lives.
Session Review by Lucas Rosenthal: Top 3 Mistakes Youth Advocates Make
The session speaker focused on some of the common mistakes and difficulties younger advocates face when trying to make a difference. There were three main mistakes and one extra he believed that most if not all teen advocates make; not believing themselves to be experts, lack of simplified or focused efforts, lack of a support structure, and the extra one – having issues with speaking up. Teens especially believe that they do not possess the ability to be experts and thus shy away from asserting their position in topics they care about, but what they don’t understand is those with firsthand experience add a vast range of diversity that brings expertise to any conversation. They also end up overextending themselves as they try to fix every problem that they cannot effectively fix any. Lastly, they end up letting their passion lead them into the deep end without asking for support. The overall message was that although these are common issues, they cannot be ones we let stop us from making change. When we effectively combat them by respecting our own opinions, listening to our communities to find areas to focus on, and reaching out to those with the proper means to support us we are a force rivaled by none.
If you’re looking for an engaging, traffic safety event that educates and empowers youth from across the country, then consider attending the 2025 Youth Transportation Safety Summit which will be in November in San Antonio, Texas. We hope to see you there!
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