Every April, youth and adults from around the United States and Canada gather in New York City for a three-day seminar on a topic of global concern, hosted by the Unitarian Universalist–United Nations Office. This year 175 youth, young adults, and adults will come together April 4–6, 2013 to learn about and dialogue around lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) issues—and you’re invited!
“I attended the UU-UNO Spring Seminar in 2010. I am a youth and a UU. My seminar experience was absolutely amazing. Between sleeping on the floor of a church on central park west with 60+ other UU youth and attending meetings at the UN as a fourteen-year-old, it was a fun and educational trip. Not only did I enjoy the intergenerational aspects of the trip, it also brought my church’s youth group closer and led to us taking other trips together over the past few years. My favorite part had to be meeting other teen UUs, many of who I am still close friends with!”
—Olivia Legan from Los Angeles, CA
Come be a part of this powerful intergenerational gathering for education, dialogue, and justice! Early bird deadline is March 1; registration closes March 15. Find out more and register now!
The seminar will feature keynote speakers Andre Banks, Co-Founder and Executive Director of All Out, an organization that uses social media and “people power” to advance the lives and freedoms of LGBT people globally, and Charles Radcliffe, Chief of the Global Issues Section of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Through panel discussions with other notable speakers, collaboration groups, and fun activities, participants will engage with issues such as LGBTQ representation in media and culture, global discrimination and criminalization of LGBTQ peoples, and how to make a difference in the international fight for recognition and equality.
“Unitarian Universalists have always embraced love (divine or human), good work (social justice), and the search for community. Adlai Stevenson, Unitarian Universalist and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, carried on this tradition for absolute love, work for social justice, and the establishment of a global community when he drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today, the UU-United Nations Office carries on that quintessentially Unitarian Universalist charge into the new millennium with our annual intergenerational Spring Seminar. Bridging gender, generations, race, and more, together we carry the mantle of our Unitarian and Universalist ancestors to bear witness, bring awareness, and create change globally. Together we are lifting up and affirming our faith tradition on a global stage.”
—Dylan Debelis, UU-UNO intern from Portland, OR
Registration closes March 15—spread the word now! Visit the Spring Seminar web page and check out our Facebook event.
PS: Can’t attend this year, or know someone who can’t afford to? Help sponsor youth attendees in need by donating or holding a fundraiser! To contribute, click here, scroll down, and click the secure link to make an online payment using the UU College of Social Justice Program Payment Form, and then enter “Scholarship” in the Participant field and “UUUNO” in the Program Code field.
