Conference lets queer youth speak out

This month's Say What conference will be one of the rare chances for queer youth in Durham region to speak up, says an organizer.

"It's definitely one of the few opportunities there are for queer youth to stand up and talk in this kind of venue, talk about their needs and their experiences," says Amy Nagel, a health promoter at the Ajax Youth Centre. "It's also a chance for their experiences to be celebrated. That doesn't happen very often."

The second annual Say What conference will take place Wed, May 14 at Durham College. It will include workshops with titles like Healthy Relationships, Trans 101 and Supporting LGBTQ Students in Our Schools.

"We'll be exploring sexual and gender identity among youth in our region," says Nagel. "It'll be a mixture of youth and professionals looking at homophobia, transphobia and heterosexism."

The keynote presentation will be by a class of students from the Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School who have created a series of eight dramatic performances based on stories and poetry about queer youth.

Tracey Hughes, the teacher of the Grade 9 drama class, says she was asked by Nagel if her class could put a creative performance together.

"We've only been working on it for two weeks," she says.  Conference lets queer youth speak out