2008 Georgia Youth Summit
September 20th-22nd, 2008
Rock Eagle, 4-H Center in Eatonton, GA

Congratulations to the recipients of a 2008 Georgia Youth Summit County Grant:

Berrien, Calhoun, Effingham, Haralson, Bacon, Chatham , Cherokee, Cobb, Evans, Glascock, Harris, Jackson , Jefferson, Jenkins, Long, Madison , Oglethorpe, Spalding, Sumter, Taylor, Terrell, Webster.

The Georgia Rural Development Council and the Department of Community Affairs generously support this grant program. We hope that it will help launch the projects that these counties developed at the 2008 Georgia Youth Summit. Click here for additional information.

2008 Georgia Youth Summit Helps Youth and Adults to Address Local Issues

The fourth Biennial Georgia Youth Summit was held at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Georgia from September 20th through the 22nd.

Nearly 700 participants from 137 counties attended the three day event which provided county teams of youth and adults with educational opportunities designed to increase awareness of state and local issues, enhance youth-adult partnerships on the local level and equip youth to become active locally in the betterment of their community.

The Georgia Rural Development Council contracts Georgia 4-H to organize the Summit , because of their statewide network of county offices and experience in developing research-based Citizenship programs. However, the Summit was open to any youth or adult interested in working to address local issues. The Summit Planning Committee included members of a variety of organizations including 4-H, The Fanning Institute, Boys and Girls Club and Association of County Commissioners of Georgia 's Georgia Civic Awareness Program for Students.

In addition to the county over 70 volunteers helped to make the Summit a success. College students from around Georgia served as classroom facilitators and resource specialists from a variety of organizations worked with county teams to enhance their county action plans. Resource specialists included staff from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Family Connections, Carl Vinson Institute of Government and government officials from counties all over Georgia .

While at the Summit , participants discussed community challenges and assets and developed an action plan to address a local issue. Connecting county teams with resources and potential collaborators was a key goal of the Summit . Commissioner Mike Beatty, of the Department of Community Affairs, challenged county teams to take what they learned at the Summit back to their counties and work to make Georgia a better place to live.

Apply for the 2008 Georgia Youth Summit County Grant Program

Deadline: January 30th, 2007
This is an excellent opportunity for counties to raise start-up funds for their county action plans. Click here or the "Project Grants" link at the top of the page for application information.

Featured in the Georgia Association of County Commissioner's Georgia County Government Magazine
Click here to read the article.

The Fourth Biennial Georgia Youth Summit is designed to create an awareness of state/local issues, to enhance youth-adult partnerships on the local level, and to equip youth to become active locally in the betterment of their community.

the Summit is a collaboration of the Georgia Rural Development Council and Georgia 4-H Youth. The dates for the 2008 Georgia Youth Summit are September 20th - 22nd, 2008.

Emerging leaders are encouraged to enhance their abilities to become contributing members of their communities by participating in the 2008 Georgia Youth Summit.

Every Georgia county will have full scholarships for 4 youth and 1 adult to attend this community leadership event.

The conference targets emerging leaders in the 10th and 11th grades to encourage the delegates to return home and act locally to improve their community.

Click Here for a schedule of Georgia Youth Summit Activities.