LEADERSHIP TRAINING ACADEMY HOSTS 19TH ANNUAL COMMUNITY GOVERNMENT INSTITUTE
LTA was proud to host its 19th Annual Community Government Institute (CGI-2006) at Stanford University, July 20-23, 2006. CGI is LTA’s signature summer program that utilizes civic awareness as a medium to teach and encourage positive community leadership to high school youth. At CGI, youth from East Palo Alto and Bay Area communities reside dormitory-style for four days as they learn the rudiments of local governance. During the CGI simulation, students establish their own community, elect civic officers, hire city staff, and develop city commissions. This year’s camp was launched under the theme, “Uncommon Leader.”
Over sixty participants, including youth and young adults, counselors, core staff, and invited speakers partook of this unforgettable, entertaining, and educational experience. The Honorable East Palo Alto Mayor Ruben Abrica greeted CGI-06 participants, wishing them the best in creating and operating their own city and urging them to find ways to become more involved in their own communities once they returned home.
These talented young minds embraced the opportunity to express their feelings of community, family, education, civic engagement and what it truly means to be an “Uncommon Leader.” After creating and naming their own city, “Ohana Falls” (ohana meaning “togetherness”), students learned the ropes of local government and engaged in skill-building workshops, assumed leadership positions and attacked problems within their newly developed community. Participants were charged to embrace “Uncommon Leadership” as a guide for benefiting their community as they served on the city council, as city staff or on a commission.
|
