The Daily Bulletin

The Center for English Teaching at Buffalo State University and the Western New York Network of English Teachers present the eighth annual Youth Voices Conference, a celebration of the remarkable stories and talents of students in grades 7–12 from across the region, on Thursday, May 2, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the Buffalo State campus.

A keynote address by Buffalo-based writer Ariel Aberg-Riger focused on the power of youth voices will kick off the conference in the Campbell Student Union Social Hall. Dinner will follow the event. Presentations will be held in Rockwell Hall and Bacon Hall.

The series seeks to reclaim space for the voices of youth and their teachers, and to reposition classrooms as learning spaces of meaning, purpose, and power in the Buffalo Niagara and Rochester regions. The first Youth Voices Conference was held in a small room in Ketchum Hall in April 2015. In 2023 the conference drew more than 500 attendees with 162 students from across our region presenting their work throughout the Buffalo State campus.

Student presentations at the Youth Voices Conference have included talks, short documentaries, spoken word poetry, podcasts, and TED Talks based on creative classroom projects. Past presentations have featured student work exploring childhood and families, popular music, Islamophobia, the impact of genocide, identity and immigration, race and gender, the environment, religious beliefs, and many other topics.

The conference gives young people the opportunity to showcase their academic work along with their thoughts, beliefs, and ideas about issues that are important to them and our community. Youth Voices is the only student-centered conference that brings young people together from across our region to share the work they are doing in their classrooms.

Past participants include Alden High School, Amherst Central High School, City Honors High School, Elmwood Village Charter School, Lafayette International, Maryvale Union Free School District, McKinley High School, Olmsted at Kensington High School, Sweet Home Middle School, West Irondequoit Central Schools, West Seneca East and West High Schools, and Wilson High School. 

Schedule of Events
3:30–4:30 p.m.: Registration
4:30 p.m.: Keynote (Campbell Student Union Social Hall)
5:00–7:15 p.m.: Student Presentations (Various Locations)
7:30–8:30 p.m.: Dinner and Dessert with Music by DJ Too Tall (Campbell Student Union Social Hall)

Learn more about the conference.

Please contact James Cercone, associate professor of English education, with questions.