Youth Program (arriving 7th grade-Completed 12th grade)

2018 Youth Theme Speakers – Eva Beal, Claire Galpern, India Harris

Youth can be a powerful force in fighting for the way they want things to be. Summer Institute enthusiasts Claire and Eva will be leading the youth program on youth activism and youth-led organizing. With racial justice and gender equality as the focus, they will equip the youth will tools for social change. As longtime SI attendees and veterans of the youth program, Claire and Eva will engage the youth in what promises to be a lively week complete with interactive activities and participatory games. They love UU youth ministry, youth power and social change and are excited to share that with you!

Eva is a youth organizer in Mark, Sweden, where she works with the local government to help create youth-friendly spaces and welcoming spaces for immigrant youth. She also organizes international youth exchanges and has a Masters in Peace and Development Studies from Linnaeus University in Sweden. Before moving to Sweden she was the youth group coordinator at First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh for two and a half years.

Claire leads trainings on youth leadership and racial justice for youth in the Central East region. She got involved in youth organizing as an CER youth and has been a community organizer with Philadelphia high school students fighting for social justice in Philly’s schools. She is currently working with airport food service workers who are fighting for their rights.

India lives in Brooklyn, NY serving full time as the Youth and Young Adult Program Coordinator for the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock. She is an organizer with the Audre Lorde Project, a LGBT community organizing center for people of color in New York City. Since 2009, she’s been involved in supporting membership development, leading community organizing trainings and campaign development.