Voices of Youth
Poems, essays and audio that celebrate the rich diversity of our culture.
The Koures Symposium Voices of Youth, Voices of Community
a short documentary that captures stories, poems, and songs from Mosaic's cutting edge Voices of Youth and Koures Symposium projects
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Press the play button above to start the film.
Voices of Youth and the Koures Symposium are a series of projects that involve diverse youth in a variety of communities. Through the Voices process, youth become engaged in the creation of an artistic forum for their own expression while developing mentoring relationships within their communities. Themes of contemporary disorientation find unique expression through the writings and voices of local youth, offering insights into the root causes of youth violence, cynicism, and apathy. A narrative mix of old stories and youthful voices is then presented to the local community in an event that is part theater, part literature, and part celebration.
Hearing the acute perspectives of youth can significantly change the communitys perception of both local and national issues and inspire continuing conversations across the generation gap. Voices of Youth inspires and empowers local youth, fosters ongoing cross-generational dialogues and leads to the development of unique local forms of mentoring.
Voices of Youth, Voices of Community
A selection of poems written from Mosaic's Voices of Youth Series
Listen to the Voices
Listen to the voices of youth,
spilling ink on the paper to tell the truth,
the truth about life & love
and all of the above;
About breaking the cycle & old traditions,
living life with righteousness
and making good decisions.
Observe the flowers that grew from the concrete,
never knew such beauty can rise from the cement.
You are not writing things that don't make sense,
It all came from the heart,
so its going to mean what it meant.
David
Voices of Youth, Voices of Community The Whole Story, the Hidden Hope
Dear Friends,
Countless times I have told the story called The Half-Boy and anticipated the moment when he meets an elder at the edge of the village. Like any young person I've ever known, the half-boy has struggled to find a moment of wholeness and the elder is wisely waiting for just such an occurrence. They meet along the edge where things torn apart come together and enter the village dancing, young and old bringing the rhythm and art of wholeness to the village again. For many years and through many struggles, the image of young and old finding the dance of culture again has been the 'hidden hope' within Mosaic.
Mosaic is based in the relentless study of the myths and traditions of many cultures and the conviction that each young person is poetic by nature and has an evocative voice that can be found and should be. The inner voice is also known as the innate genius, expressing it helps awaken the genuine purpose in each young life.
For Mosaic, 'youth work' does not refer to an aspect of sociology or a certain segment of the population. Rather, we mean the work of finding the 'youth in the young' and thereby revealing visions trying to be born into the culture. 'Youth work' also means the work of making an uncommon ground where youth and elders can reweave cultural fabrics with new threads and old knowledge.
Voices of Youth
Poems, essays and audio that celebrate the rich diversity of our culture.