By the time you are reading this, 1,400 teens and their advisors, representing 124 Boys & Girls Club organizations and military youth centers will be in THE ONE AND ONLY ATL for the best event of the year- BGCA’s National Keystone Conference!
Keystone is a club within the Club that gives teens ages 14-18 opportunities to make leadership decisions, serve others, and engage in experiences that help to shape their knowledge of academic, career community service, and teen outreach initiatives and projects. Keystone Club teens can also attend the BEST EVENT of the summer- the Keystone Conference! Each year, teens from across the country gather together to learn, get inspired, and have the most fun. But the best part? Almost everything at the Keystone Conference reflects youth voice, from the conference theme to the session topics.
At the start of the planning season, BGCA convenes a Steering Committee of teens and advisors from Keystone Clubs, and they have an epic session of brainstorming about everything that should happen during the three conference days, from the games room to the general sessions. For 2024, they chose the theme United & Brave, Get Loud!
This theme reflects their top priorities- that they want to see the young leaders of this country come together, stand up for what they believe in, and make positive change in their communities. The Steering Committee also plans out the topics for the 30 breakout sessions on Day 2 of the conference and the kinds of messages they want to hear from general session speakers. They consider not just what they will find fun, but also the top issues affecting teens in America today. This gives us incredible insight into what a diverse group of teens thinks and feels. Each year on the ClubX Blog we share the highlights from those plans, in no particular order. Read on to learn the top 5 areas that teens in 2024 care about.
Mental Health
For the third year in a row, youth mental health is the one of the main issues our teens want to focus on. Depression and anxiety continue to increase in both youth and teens, with 37% of adolescents reporting that they had persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness over the past year. Youth in marginalized groups are particularly at risk. New federal data shows that the suicide rate among Black adolescents is increasing faster than other racial and ethnic groups, and that they are significantly less likely than their peers in other demographic groups to receive mental health care. 66% of LGBTQ+ youth reported recent symptoms of anxiety, with 90% saying their well-being was negatively impacted due to recent politics and news.
We’ll have multiple sessions addressing several facets of this issue led by mental health professionals and youth advocates that give practical ways for teens to build healthy coping skills and empowering them to advocate for their needs. There will also be a Chill Zone open for the duration of the conference, where teens can go relax in a calm space with multi-sensory tools if they need a break.
Youth Resistance and Advocacy
For generations, young people have been leading the charge for justice, and today’s teens are no different. They care about what is happening socially and politically. They’ve felt the direct effects of issues like gun violence and racial inequality, and they are dedicated to activism. But teens don’t just want to learn about social justice topics, they want to get INVOLVED. From community service (a requirement to participate in Keystone), to directly advocating to their elected officials, teens want to know the most effective ways to raise their voices, including how to use their social media platforms to educate others.
Friday’s opening general session will be all about being brave and implementing bold, exciting ideas to make our communities better. We’ll also have breakout sessions on how to make practical change and on specific topics the teens requested, including violence prevention, substance abuse, and environmental change. On Saturday, teens will have the opportunity to volunteer with local Atlanta organizations that are making an impact, from assembling wheelchairs for seniors, prosthetic hands for kids, and even ukuleles for music therapy at a children’s hospital! We’ve expanded the volunteer opportunities this year because so many teens want to participate.
Self-Care and Overall Wellbeing
In addition to mental health specifically, our teens want to know more about how to take care of themselves physically and emotionally for overall wellbeing. With so much content about self-care on social media, it can be hard to know what is actually helpful and what isn’t, and it can bring a sense of pressure itself to always be doing more. Teens want to know how to be healthy without engaging in toxic diet culture, and ways to integrate physical fitness into their busy lives.
Sessions on self-care and body basics, creating personal fitness routines and healthy meal plans, and even yoga will be popular. We also can’t wait to see what gets cooked up in our Fun Track Culinary Arts session, which will be based on the show Chopped this year, including a mystery ingredient teens have to use in their dishes! We’ll also have dance parties each night to get youth moving.
Career Readiness
Too many people buy into stereotypes that teens don’t care about anything and are clueless, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Young people feel the effects of economic issues keenly, with 1 in 7 currently living in poverty in the United States. They’ve experienced the uncertainty of the job insecurity faced by their parents, and they are seeing how job field is rapidly changing alongside technology. Understanding how to prepare for their next steps education and career-wise is top of mind, such as filling out college applications, understanding financial aid (and wanting to avoid crushing student loan debt), or what non-college options exist, and how to find their passion to even know what route to take.
We’ll be hosting a College and Career expo where teens can connect with organizations, higher learning institutions, and industry employers. There will also be breakout sessions on entrepreneurship, job readiness, and even what careers fit personality types best.
Connection with Others
Young people are lonelier than ever before, with the US Surgeon General saying in 2023 that loneliness poses a public health risk on par with smoking and drinking. Significantly exacerbated by the pandemic, it was already on the rise because of social media and technology. While virtual connections can have some benefits, they don’t replace the feelings of belonging and social skill building that in-person socialization does. Increased internet usage can also put teens at risk for self-image struggles and online radicalization. Teens want to learn how to build positive friendships, overcome bullying, and how to be inclusive.
Connecting with teens from across the country is the one of the main reasons the Keystone Conference exists! For many youth, this may be their first time on a plane or leaving their state, and they’ll be interacting throughout the weekend with teens that may be very different than they are, but also have something important in common- they are Keystoners. Through fun, learning, and service, teens make lifelong friends each year.
Teens today have a lot to deal with. It’s why afterschool continues to be so vital. We cultivate welcoming, inclusive, emotionally safe spaces where youth can connect with their peers and be supported by adults who care about them, and can help them navigate the hard stuff and be ready for the future. These are really big issues, and we are so proud of how young people are navigating them. You can participate in the fun even if you aren’t coming to Atlanta on Instagram @BGCAtapin, where we’ll be sharing all the highlights in the stories.
What are the issues the teens in your Club care about? How do you authentically cultivate youth voice? We want to know! Comment below, on the BGCA Youth Development Facebook page, or email ClubXBlog@bgca.org.
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