Young women selected by the YWCA, Girl Scouts of Utah and the Go-Girlz program facilitated by the Women’s Resource Center, will take part in a one-day intensive writing workshop as part of KUED’s Women and Girls Lead initiative on Saturday, October 13 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Sorensen Unity Center.
Ahmyah Smith from the Salt Lake Community College Community the Center Writing Center and bestselling author Bridget Cook will be featured presenters. Breakout sessions include creative journaling, persuasive essay, poetry and short story.
In April, the stories the young women write will be part of a month-long exhibit at the Sorensen Unity Center. The girls will come back together for an opening reception to celebrate their stories and achievement. The stories will be combined with statewide submissions from the community for inclusion in a book; for an online exhibit; and as part of a photo essay exhibit that will travel to several venues in the state.
“It’s important to give young women of different backgrounds a chance to connect while empowering them to give voice to their own personal experiences,” says Jacqui Voland, KUED Coordinator of Community Outreach who is spearheading the Women and Girls Lead initiative. “That’s why we wanted to do a writing workshop that would give them the tools to tell their unique stories.”
The Women and Girls Lead Writing Workshop, funded by the Utah Humanities Council, is a collaboration of KUED, the Gender Studies Program at the University of Utah, Girl Scouts of Utah, the University of Utah Women’s Resource Center- Go Girlz, SLCC Community Writing Center, The Center for Documentary Arts and Expression, University of Utah Neighborhood Partners, YWCA-Salt Lake City and the Sorensen Unity Center.
The Women and Girls Lead Initiative is a multiyear public media initiative to educate, empower and connect Utahns about the issues facing women and girls worldwide. Part of a national PBS project, the initiative combines independent documentaries, new media and partnerships with a variety of Utah organizations to amplify the voices of women and girls who overcome major obstacles to act as leaders. For more information visit www.kued.org.
This program has received funding from the Utah Humanities Council. The Utah Humanities Council (UHC) enriches our cultural, intellectual, and civic life by providing opportunities for all Utahns to explore life’s most engaging questions and the wonders of the human experience.
###
Please visit our website at www.kued.org/jobs for information about job opportunities at KUED.