Teen Summit

The Teen Summit on Dating Violence provided an opportunity to bring high school students together to learn about and discuss dating violence.  The objective of the summit was to provide information about healthy and unhealthy relationships to any teen wanting to attend. The Summit provided an opportunity to encourage students to volunteer to be peer educators.  The Summit was advertised through posters, flyers and announcements at the high school.  In addition, guidance counsellors identified and approached particular students who they felt might benefit from the summit or make excellent educators.  The summit was open to students from grades 9 - O.A.C..  It was hoped that this would provide a variety of perspectives and give the project longevity since some students would remain in the high school for several years.

The summit was held over two days.  The topic of dating violence rarely receives the educational time it requires.  The committee felt strongly that two days would allow for a more thorough coverage of this important subject and offer students time to digest the information they were receiving so that they could return the second day with questions.  The summit included presentations as well as workshops.  Students also received a folder including resources and dating violence information.  The first day of the summit was dedicated to informing students about the issues and the second day focused on solutions to the problems that had been discussed during day 1.  Thus students were not left feeling depressed and helpless but rather were encouraged to become active in their own relationships, in the peer educator program and in the wider community.  At the end of the summit it was hoped that each student would leave a 'mini-expert' in the area of dating violence.  Even if they decided not to be a peer presenter, they could now act as a source of accurate information for their peers.