Keystone Center Ensures the Next Generation’s Voice is Shaping the Future
Congress are mapping policies designed to provide for future generations.
And some of the future’s brightest and best would love to provide their
input.
Funded by a grant from Duke Energy, the Keystone Center is developing a
Youth Energy Board, on which some of the country’s brightest teenagers will
develop policy recommendations for President Obama, Congress, state
legislators and leaders in the energy industry and environmental community.
“It’s important that young people take an active role in determining the
programs and policies that will directly affect their future,” said
Trent
Duke Energy. “We’ve heard President Obama emphasize the need for change in
this country. Who better to offer fresh ideas than our children?”
The Keystone Center, headquartered in
far-reaching program designed to develop the knowledge and skills the nation’s
young people need to make their voices heard on a local, state and national
level.
The Youth Policy Summit brings together some of the best and brightest
high school students from across the nation. Students research complex public
policy issues and develop relevant leadership skills while learning
negotiation techniques and stakeholder analysis. Participating youth will
ultimately craft consensus-based policy recommendations that take into
consideration the multiple stakeholders in today’s society and have the
opportunity to present and discuss their findings with those responsible for
policy change.
To date, seven Youth Policy Summits have been held, with plans to expand
the concept significantly throughout the nation on a regional and local level
to engage a broader audience of youth and policy makers. One aspect of this
expansion is the creation of the Youth Energy Board.
“The 40 students who participate in each Youth Policy Summit are selected
by their respective schools for a combination of excellent academic
achievement and leadership skills,” said
co-director of the program. “The Keystone Center selected 18 students from a
talented pool of students attending the 2007 and 2008 energy policy summits,
who demonstrated exceptional public speaking skills and mastery of the
concepts of stakeholder engagement.”
These Policy Summit alumni will hold the inaugural meeting of the Youth
Energy Board in
These students, some of whom will have already entered college, will focus
on specific company or sector-specific issues and make targeted
recommendations that combine their science and engineering knowledge with
advanced leadership and negotiation skills.
The Youth Policy Summits were created because “we saw a growing need to
arm our young people with the intellectual and social skills to play an active
and effective role in solving these problems,” Kranowitz said.
Each summit is underwritten by contributions from foundations,
corporations, participating schools and the students themselves. The program
is designed to provide students with the ability and professional skills to
work within the system to bring about change. They learn new skill sets, such
as policy analysis, collaborative leadership, and multiparty negotiation.
The summits also help the students in career development and civic
engagement, and create an opportunity for networking. Not only do the
students develop thoughtful and innovative recommendations, but they also gain
the gift of awareness of the larger global world view. Some of the students
have created the National Energy Conservation Society
(http://necsociety.info), modeled on the Honor Society, as a result of their
collaborative work.
“They have a right and responsibility to affect the decisions being made
by governments at all levels because it is their future.” Kranowitz added, “We
see this as a great opportunity to assist students in discovering this
responsibility and learning the skills to act upon it.”
Headquartered in
traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information
about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com .
The Keystone Center, a non-profit public policy and educational
organization, was created in 1975.
public and private sector to confront critical environment, energy and public
health issues. Its education programs arm today’s students with the skills
they will need to be successful in the workforce. More information is
available at www.keystone.org .
SOURCE Duke Energy