On June 18, the Department of Commerce Office of Faith-Based & Neighborhood Partnerships, in collaboration with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, organized the National Youth Summit 2.0 in Washington, DC. Secretary Raimondo, Deputy Secretary Graves, Acting Under Secretary Morrissette, and President and CEO of BGCGW Gabrielle Webster led the event with keynote remarks emphasizing the Administration's commitment to celebrating, empowering, and uplifting youth from communities nationwide.
They provided an overview of resources and opportunities from various bureaus and national partnerships while highlighting programs supported by the Biden Administration. They also expressed appreciation for how Commerce continues to empower the nation's youth, which they noted is essential for America's global competitiveness. The leaders emphasized the critical role youth play in the U.S. economy and urged faith, business, and community leaders to engage at state and federal levels to streamline access to resources supported by President Biden's Investing in America agenda.
The Youth-Led Panel featured young people from high school, college, and apprenticeship programs who shared their success stories and challenges as trailblazers addressing pressing community needs. Panelists discussed equity issues in underrepresented and underserved communities.
During the Mini-Fair segment of the summit, representatives from various federal agencies including Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) presented their capabilities. Local partners such as AmeriCorps, Build Within, and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities also shared their services with attendees.
Interagency partners provided resources supporting workforce development, technical assistance, data analysis techniques for climate resilience & business innovation. Several bureaus from the Department of Commerce—including CHIPS for America, Economic Development Administration (EDA), International Trade Administration (ITA), Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Census Bureau, and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)—explained how they partner with youth in communities.
Two breakout sessions facilitated robust discussions on topics like business development, entrepreneurship, economic development alternatives to college education access to data innovation climate resilience equity in education These sessions were led by youth nominees who brought unique perspectives to these discussions. Notably addressed was educational equity for underrepresented communities.
The sessions also included insights from national community business leaders bureau leaders from AmeriCorps ITA PTO Census FEMA NOAA ED They discussed workforce development business entrepreneurship data innovation climate resilience financial literacy The sessions highlighted national youth leaders discussing challenges opportunities partnership goals
For those unable to attend or wishing to revisit discussions portions of summit available via recorded live stream ensuring all benefit from knowledge inspiration shared at National Youth Summit 2.0
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