The West Virginia KLCC site is pleased to announce that La Donna Owens, youth evaluator for the site, gave birth on Thursday, March 30 to a 5 lb., 14 oz. baby girl. Little Cameron and mommy La Donna are fine. Well wishes can be sent to the Owens family at Big Creek People in Action: HC 32, Box 541 Caretta, West Virginia 24821.

The 2006 round of Film Your Issue, an issues-focused youth film competition, is currently accepting entries. Sponsored by a variety of technology, news and entertainment companies as well as some non-profit groups and educational organizations, Film Your Issue (FYI) invites youth ages 18-26 to submit animated or live-action digital films on a wide range of issues (e.g. homelessness, environmental justice, discrimination, etc.).

Sponsors view the FYI competition as a platform for youth to lift their voices on issues of importance. Academy Award winning actor/director George Clooney is included among the VIP judges. Prizes include a paid studio internship at the Walt Disney Studios, an opportunity to have the film featured on a variety of online venues, and a trip to New York to attend the awards ceremony at the United Nations headquarters.

Entries should run no less than 30 seconds, no more than 60 seconds, and must be submitted digitally via the Internet or by email. The deadline for submissions is May 21, 2006. For details visit FYI online at: www.filmyourissue.com.

Fellows of the KLCC site in New Mexico are working together with other community leaders to launch a youth radio station in Eastern Cibola County. Federal Communications Commission review of the group’s application for a broadcasting license is roughly a year away, but fellows are steadily moving toward their vision. Radio field equipment has already been purchased and donated, and students have already begun using it to gather stories for eventual broadcast.

In a similar effort to give youth a greater voice in Eastern Cibola County, the KLCC fellowship was instrumental in persuading Laguna High School to approve creation of a digital storytelling elective course for the 2006-07 academic year. In addition to teaching students the technical aspects of digital storytelling, the course will include social studies and New Mexico history components. For more information contact Shelly Valdez at s.valdez@lagunaed.net.

The stages of community change and leadership development that KLCC participants experience as part of their collective leadership fellowship are now outlined in a new publication. The Framework: a Tool to Develop Collective Leadership for Community Change is authored by Patricia Hughes of the Center for Ethical Leadership and is a joint publication of the Center for Ethical Leadership and the Institute for Educational Leadership. Copies of the Framework are available on the KLCC Web site. For more information visit www.klccleadership.org.

Click here to view photographic highlights from the 2006 National Gathering

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