Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Youth Policy Summit visits Anadarko!

A group of students from the NCSSSMST Youth Policy Summit took the initiative to follow up with one of our fantastic Expert Panelists from Anadarko Energy Services Company in The Woodlands, TX. Four students from the Academy of Science and Technology met with Alan Higgins and his colleagues at the Anadarko headquarters to share a presentation of their Final Policy Recommendations. Way to go, Christine, Emily, Jiawen and Keerthana!



Contributed by Emily Luomala

On Monday, July 9, 2012, Christine Chin, Jiawen Jiang, Keerthana Pakanati, and I arrived at Anadarko at 1:30pm.  We followed Mr. Alan Higgins up to the 3rd floor of the building which they deemed the conference floor. He showed us to conference room #3 where we set up our presentation and prepped for the 2:00 presentation. Each of us were sitting in chairs along the wall and nervously thinking of what we were going to say. I think I can speak for the others in that we were all pretty nervous about presenting. Mr. Higgins first had the listeners share their name and position in the company before he had us introduce ourselves. After that, the presentation went smoothly. We all remembered our parts and had quite a few people nodding their heads in agreement to what we were saying. For me, at least, that was reassuring. After our presentation, we had a short Q&A session. There were a few questions about the actual presentation but most people wanted to know a bit more about our opinions on certain issues. All in all, it went very smooth and felt good to have people interested in what we had to say. Hopefully more opportunities such as this will arise for any of the 2012 YPS students.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Keystone YPS: Mediation and Negotiation Training!

Monday June 11, 2012
Contributed by Keerthana Pakanati

Today was our first real day of negotiation training at the Keystone Center. We packed our sandwiches, ate some eggs, and were on our way. In the morning, we started by discussing about the problems in the public sphere, and what we could do to stop them, based on the 3 groups of stakeholders, the government, who regulates, the advocacy groups and the industry, both on other ends of the spectrum on many topics, including nuclear energy, and the continued use of fossil fuels. There is a way to get to a consensus, and that begins with setting up a frame. Usually, in a negotiation, everyone will come out with a bit of a heart burn, something they could live with, but had to give a little to get. While brainstorming negotiation tactics, I was surprised to realize that manipulation, and fake deadlines were often used, given that I thought a negotiation was always based on the truth. That fake deadline would come back to haunt my group in the night’s activity. We learned what it was to be a mediator, courtesy of Taladega Nights, and that a position and an interest were two different things, a position being more specific, and the interest being the need that lies behind the position.
We realized what it meant to build trust, and we played a fun, but very intense game called Rio Sucio. Basically the point of the game was to make money for your country, and between the 5 countries that lived along the river, you could choose to make an economic move, or resist. Now for the first couple of rounds, there was no contact among the countries, but our strategy was to build trust by not making economic endeavors. However, when we sent a person to negotiate, we were stabbed in the back. However, we trucked on, and even managed to form an alliance with one of the countries. Tensions ran high as one country refused to back down, and chose to make an economic endeavor every time. It was a riveting game that also taught us what trust really meant. We were introduced to the idea of hat thinking, where six different colors, green, black, yellow, blue, red and white each represented a different process in the steps of coming up with an idea and figuring out the pros and cons, and how to implement it. Not to mention we all looked very fancy in those hats during the activity.
Lastly, we received bios of the expert panel we would be meeting Tuesday and came up with questions that we were eager to ask them, like how they came upon their profession, or their opinion on fracking. We walked back to the science school along a river, taking in all the beauty that was Colorado. Lastly, we played a frustrating, stimulating, frenzy of a game, called the “puzzling” nature of negotiation. The point of the game was to create a 100 piece puzzle in what appeared to be an hour, but wasn’t actually. We were given money to trade pieces, and the 6 puzzles were jumbled up into a mess of pieces. It didn’t help that many of the puzzles had similar colors, like white fur and blue sky. Try as we might, we weren’t able to complete the puzzle, but we did manage to realize that negotiation and facts aren’t always as simple as they appear. All in all, it was an informative, fun, and slightly stressful (only in the games), Monday.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Why YPS? Part 5

YPS alums know their stuff, and called us out that 5, in fact, should come before 6. They keep us on our toes before, during and after programs! Thanks to Austin, this post was added, and his response for what Part 5 should be was "beautiful campus and just loads of fun."

While Austin is referring specifically to the Keystone Science School campus where we hold our NCSSSMST program, we do try to hold ALL YPS programs on beautiful campuses across the country. Whether you are at a college campus learning about life as a university student or living in a cabin at KSS, you will learn both from YPS programming as well as from your surroundings.

Austin also brings us to a very important point. Ya, YPS is academic and a lot of work, but it is also a lot of fun. We promise! Amid the serious discussions, research and writing, you will also play games, have lots of free time to get to know your new friends, and enjoy yourselves!

Thank you Austin for keeping our posts in line, and giving us a great topic :)

Why YPS? Numero Six

Civic Engagement: Who you calling apathetic?! Students who attend a Youth Policy Summit gain the skills and leadership experience to take an active role in local, regional and national debates, and can understand and frame important public issues. Though Youth Policy Summit programs last just one week, the impacts can last a lifetime. YPS alumni have done presentations and spearheaded local initiatives related to their Summit topic, started school clubs and raised community awareness, met with national lawmakers and more. Students leave YPS with a new understanding of the importance of public debates, and the confidence and knowledge to become active on issues they care about.

Civic engagement is essential for the health and vitality of our nation. YPS is training tomorrow’s leaders to share their voices, and teaching them to get involved and share their ideas to create a more sustainable future.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Why YPS? Part Quattro

Because even 5th graders have résumés now… In a world where competition for jobs, internships and schools is becoming more challenging every day, it is important to find a way to STAND OUT. How do you prove to the person reading your application that you are exactly what they are looking for?
Youth Policy Summit alumni have an impressive toolkit that sets them apart from their peers: in the span of one short week, they have practiced research, writing and organization skills and then applied them to a real-life policy issue. They have utilized essential 21st century skills like collaborative decision making, critical thinking and creative problem solving. Every YPS alum knows how to understand and respect diverse points of view and seek out common interests to resolve a dispute. They take a more active role in civic dialogue and community action projects, and are making a difference. Finally, YPS alumni have spent time with professionals in government, non-profit and industry sectors and have an insider’s perspective on potential academic and career paths.

YPS is a chance to spend a week on a college campus, meet new friends and find creative ways to solve issues that even the decision-makers in Washington can’t figure out.  Space is still available for this summer’s programs- check them out at www.youthpolicysummit.org.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Why YPS? Part Tres

Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Skills: What if we told you high schools students have all the answers? Attend a Youth Policy Summit final presentation, and you’ll have a tough time saying otherwise.
At Youth Policy Summit, students learn to understand complex problems from multiple viewpoints, and to consider future concerns and issues that will arise. They explore the social, technical, environmental, education & workforce, political, legal and economic sides of issues (the STEEPLE analysis), and then apply this knowledge to come up with innovative solutions for the future.

From our country’s energy portfolio to the future of hydrofracking, YPS students have the answers. The solutions they come up with are well thought out, supported by evidence, and truly their own. And the skills they develop and apply at YPS are not only useful during the Summit week, but can be applied to other issues that citizens, businesses, nonprofits and government agencies grapple with on a daily basis.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Why YPS? Part Deux

Collaborate, Mediate, Negotiate!  Riddle me this: where can you find Exxon Mobil, Greenpeace, the Environmental Protection Agency and  Coal Power USA holding hands and singing a rousing rendition of “Why can’t we be friends”?  Yeah, we haven't seen it either. But take away the singing and hand-holding and you have a multi-stakeholder dialogue that has the potential to make positive, lasting change!

Youth Policy Summit is the only program of its kind that engages students in a mediation process that includes representatives from diverse stakeholder groups.  Participants step into the shoes of industry, government and advocacy groups and spend the week working together to understand underlying common interests and collaborating to find a solution that everyone can agree with. YPS students learn to identify and value diverse perspectives. They are leaders with the crucial ability to listen, understand and mediate conflict within a group so that a feasible, lasting solution can be found.