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CYANOnline
California Youth Advocacy Network

Youth Advocacy Conference

Video Created by Lucyana G, PHAST Coalition in Stanislaus County

About

CYAN’s annual statewide conference is designed for youth who are working on making their communities smoke and commercial tobacco-free, and offers them the opportunity to learn more about advocacy and practice their skills.  The summer conference strives to strengthen youth engagement in local policy, systems, and environmental change efforts by providing young people with training on a variety of skills and topics related to coalition development, data collection, public speaking, community engagement, and working with decision makers. The conference offers a unique learning opportunity for youth to learn about current smoke and commercial tobacco-free policy initiatives and utilizes Live Action Roleplay activities for participants to practice new learned advocacy skills.

Event details

The conference will be held on Monday, July 14 through Thursday, July 17, 2025 in Santa Cruz County at the Happy Valley Conference Center. The conference begins at 3:30pm on July 14th and ends by 1:00pm on July 14th to allow travel time to/from Santa Cruz. Each conference day includes a mix of learning new content, participanting in skill-based activities, and free time (i.e., hiking, swimming, crafts, etc.).

Participants

Youth who are entering the 9th-12th grade in the August/September 2025 school year and who are working with California Tobacco Prevention Program (CTPP)-funded projects are invited to attend. At this time, coalitions can register up to two adults and five youth to attend; however, organizations can request to add more youth participants to a waitlist, if space permits. Please note, youth must attend this conference with an adult coordinator from a CTPP-funded organization.

Cost

There is no cost to attend this event. CYAN will provide all participants with food and lodging. Organizations needing assistance with travel can indicate their needs on the registration form. CYAN is able to provide travel scholarships for any program unable to attend due to limited funding for travel.