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| WJCF & L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa kick off inaguaral Youth Mediation Summit |
WJCF & L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Kick-off Inaugural Youth Mediation Summit to bring
mediation programs to area schools.
Over 300 students, faculty, administrators and parents from 12 LAUSD schools attend
Youth Mediation Summit held at Los Angeles City Hall on May 11, 2006.
LOS ANGELES, (MAY 24, 2006): Continuing his commitment to educating youth, and
stopping violence and bullying on school campuses, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa instigated
the City of Los Angeles's first Youth Mediation Summit. Over 300 students, faculty,
administrators and parents from 12 LAUSD schools attended the Summit, which was held
at Los Angeles City Hall on May 11, 2006.
The Summit was created in conjunction with the Youth Mediation Summit Committee,
which Western Justice Center Foundation helped organize and facilitate. Members of the
Summit Committee included the Asian Pacific American Dispute Resolution Center,
Centinela Youth Services, Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, Los Angeles County Bar
Association Dispute Resolution Services, Los Angeles Human Relations Commission,
and West Angeles Community Development Corporation/Dispute Resolution
Services.
Workshops were administered to students, parents, and teachers and administrators from
the attending schools. The student workshops promoted nonviolent conflict resolution and
the use of peer mediation on campuses. Youth participants learned from trained mediation
professionals about self awareness, understanding conflict, active listening, and the
process of mediation. One student reported that from the workshop they learned that conflict "is not just solved with violence" while another student learned "about peer mediation and
how it can be good to help people you never knew before to come to a compromise before
it escalates to the wrong direction."
Students from Hamilton High School performed an amazing show geared toward building an
interracial community. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also delivered a rousing speech about
the importance of nonviolent conflict resolution programs on school campuses and in the
wider community.
The Summit also served as a catalyst to build partnerships between existing conflict
resolution services operating in the community and local schools. Several conflict resolution organizations exhibited their programs to attending schools at the Summit during the lunch
time tabling fair.
Currently, Summit Committee member organizations are following-up with the 12 participating
schools to discuss launching peer mediation programs on their campuses.
Click here to listen to KPCC broadcast portions of the mayor's speech and hear student
reaction to the event.
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