The Making Cents International Global Youth Enterprise Conference met September 15-16 in Washington D.C. Three DOT USA TeachUp! Interns, Jason Blocker, Doyle Reid, and Angela Baldwin, were in attendance. The conference focused on empowering today’s youth and equipping them to be successful so that they may in turn empower the youth of tomorrow.

“I understand now that even if you give a youth a small amount of money and the guidance and tools they need, they can make a big difference,” said Jason Blocker, DOT USA’s 21s/TeachUp! Support Intern.

The two-day event played host to people from across the globe and was filled with discussions and activities designed to create an open dialogue among youth, business leaders, policy makers, and other professionals.

“The conference was filled with people from all over the world who wanted to find solutions to problems that plague non-government youth organizations,” Angela Baldwin, a TeachUp! Intern working in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, wrote in a blog following the conference. “Although some of the terminology went over my head, the message was still very clear ‘the children are our future.’”

The conference created an excellent opportunity for the interns to see not only how their efforts with the TeachUp! Program fit into a larger picture, but also opened their eyes to new possibilities within the TeachUp! Program. Angela Baldwin experienced this first hand when she met a group of teens who started a photography club in Argentina called ph15. Angela asked the group if they would be interesting in becoming pen pals with the students from TeachUp! Schools.

“I think that this project will help everyone involved to understand that people are more alike than they are different,” said Baldwin.

The interns left the conference with a greater knowledge of efforts being made around the world to empower youth. They returned to their TeachUp! responsibilities with new experiences, education, and ideas hoping to ensure that TeachUp! remains an active part in shaping the youth of America and around the world.