Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation (BTWF)’s first 24 young people who will be participating as part of the foundation’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB) are taking part in the inaugural YAB Summit at Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles. The YAB members aged 17-23 met for three days of open, honest dialogue about the foundation’s upcoming programs and initiatives. Their input will be used to guide the BTWF’s future plans.
“The goal of the youth advisory board is to reflect and magnify the strength, determination, creativity, and capacity of our youth, and to have them provide insight on the issues that are most important to them,” said BTWF President and Co-Founder Cynthia Germanotta. “It is the ideas, concerns, and aspirations of these youth that will shape our working model. My daughter and I envisioned the Foundation as a youth movement, and through these young leaders, we will learn how to best engage the youth of America in co-creating a kinder, braver world.”
“I was really nervous that not knowing anybody, I’d kind of be an outcast,” said one YAB member. “But, coming here I’ve realized that everyone is trying to connect with everyone. It’s been amazing so far.”
This year’s YAB was hand-picked after “an extensive nomination process led by BTWF and its partners.” The foundation reports that in the future, a more formalized process will be in place to help select the YAB.
“We’ve heard stories in the past few days from the Youth Advisory Board; stories of social activism and about moving forward together with kindness and courage,” said Anne Collier, Editor of NetFamilyNews.org and chair of the YAB. “That’s the movement we want to help them grow.”
's first 24 young people who will be participating as part of the foundation's Youth Advisory Board (YAB) are taking part in the inaugural YAB Summit at Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles.){kind=link}