Four speakers will address more than 400 Central Valley middle, high school and college students at the 34th Annual Chican@ Youth Conference (CYC) at California State University, Fresno on Saturday, Jan. 13.
Registration is 8-9 a.m. at the Satellite Student Union, 2485 E. San Ramon Ave. Workshops and activities continue until 7 p.m.
The free event is hosted by the student organization, El Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlán (MEChA), University Outreach Services and the Chicano Latin American Studies Department.
The CYC will offer local youth a gateway to higher learning, higher political consciousness, and exposure to community human rights issues, said CYC spokesperson Sarah Rios, under the theme, “Act Locally, Think Globally.”
“This theme was chosen to emphasize the strength and impact of acting in one’s local community in response to issues around the globe,” Rios said. “For 34 years, CYC has served the Central San Joaquin Valley youth and has led them to experience first-hand the meaning of Chicanismo.”
Speakers are Alegria De La Cruz, director of the boards of Fresno Metro Ministries and Centro Binacional por Desarrollo del Indigena Oaxaqueno (CBIO); Michael Becker, PhD., lecturer in modern and contemporary political theory in the Fresno State History Department; Jose Malvido, past coordinator of the Peace and Dignity Journey, an intercontinental spiritual movement that works to unite Indigenous Peoples throughout North, Central and South America; and Sofia Corona, alumni of Fresno State MEChA.
Students can choose from 25 workshops covering different elements of higher education and issues of special interest facing the Chicano community.
Entertainment includes the poetry reading of “I Am Joaquin” by Pete Ochoa and performances by Teatro de la Tierra. The College Fair will feature more than 25 university representatives from throughout California.
For more information, call 559.278.2048.
