STAY Summer Institute, August 8-11

This year the third annual STAY Summer Institute (SSI) will be held at the Highlander Center in east Tennessee from August 8th - 11th. SSI is a four-day gathering of Central Appalachian youth, aged 14-30, who come together to teach and learn from one another, build community, and to work towards a sustainable future for their region. Over the course of the weekend youth lead and participate in workshops, cultural sharing sessions, and creative skill shares like dances and singing sessions. Past workshop sessions have included: how to affect policy changes in the region , media representations of Appalachia, the history and current state of resource extraction in the region, old-time mountain music,  educational justice and the Student Bill of Rights, the Central Appalachian Prisoner Support Network, and lots more.

KFTC will provide ten scholarships for young members in our east Kentucky chapters and at large areas who want to attend.  Transportation will also be provided wherever possible.  To claim a full scholarship to the 3^rd Annual STAY Summer Institute, register at thestayproject.org and contact [email protected]. People from across the state can also support STAY by providing full or partial scholarships for youth participation.  To donate, find other ways to be involved or ask questions, contact [email protected].

The Summer Institute is also where STAY members elect the steering committee and collectively decide on the focus of STAY’s work.  Last year, SSI participants decided STAY would focus on three main issues:  working for clean water in the region, juvenile justice, and education reform. This year’s gathering will build on past years’ work, and we will form committees to begin working on each of these issues in the upcoming year. We think hard and envision hard at SSI, but as always there will be great food, amazing young people from across the region, and so much fun! Registration fee is on a sliding scale from $0-$150.  REGISTER TODAY!

The ‘Stay Together Appalachian Youth’ Project is a diverse regional network of young people throughout Central Appalachia who are working together to advocate for and actively participate in their home mountain communities of West Virginia, southwest Virginia, eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina.  STAY is currently a consortium supported by Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute in Whitesburg, KY, High Rocks in Hillsboro, WV, and the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, TN.