One group of young campers is wrapping up two weeks of activities by sharing their work on democracy as part of Camp Peaceprints.
The camp, hosted by the Western New York Peace Center, focuses on leadership and social justice. Each year, the program is designed by former campers and run by youth mentors, who are 15 to 20 years old, for campers who are ages eight to 14.
WNY Peace Center Interim Co-Director Vicky Ross shared that she was very excited when both the former campers and current campers decided to focus on “democracy in action” for this year’s theme.
"This year, they picked the theme of the camp, and they picked the theme of democracy, which I was very thrilled. I did question to make sure that they really wanted to do it, and they really wanted to do it," Ross said. "So, they've been learning about it [democracy], and then they did that voter registration drive, and this press conference."
The participants shared how they held a voter registration drive, drafted a peace agreement to guide their camp, learned about democracy, and also enjoyed more traditional day-camp fun, including field trips and swimming.
Vedant Mohan, one of the youth mentors and a former camper, said the camp helps build leadership skills.
"I wanted to do it [as a youth mentor] because we're teaching great values and morals," Mohan said. "Because society needs more understanding, and starting at a young age, like learning how to understand and work with different people and communicate is a really important skill, even in the professional realm. And I think that it's helped me a lot with leadership."
The day camp wraps up its 19th year this week.
