5th Annual Governor's Conference on LGBT Youth
Proud to Change the World; Creating an Accepting Future
Lt. Dan Choi, West Point Graduate to Keynote Governor's ConferenceArabic linguist, Iraq War veteran, and West Point Graduate Lt. Dan Choi will headline the 5th Annual Governor's Conference on LGBT Youth on February 18th, 2010 at Drake University.
REGISTRATION IS CLOSED
Lt. Dan Choi will headline the 5th Annual Governor’s Conference on LGBT Youth on February 18th ,2010 at Drake University. This year’s conference is expected to gather several hundred educators, parents, students, policy makers, and others concerned about the safety of LGBT youth in Iowa. Last year’s conference attracted well over 200 participants from over 75 communities across Iowa.
Lt. Choi has garnered national fame when he said on the March 19, 2009 episode of The Rachel Maddow Show; “I am gay.” Since coming out, Lt. Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq veteran fluent in Arabic, has been notified that discharge proceedings have been brought up against him. He was only of only eight soldiers from his graduating class who majored in Arabic.
In addition to Lt. Choi, Governor Chet Culver, Lt. Governor Patty Judge, and Congressman Leonard Boswell have been invited to address the conference. During his first legislative session as Governor, Culver was successful in advocating for and ensuring the passage of both the Safe Schools Law which protects all students including those that are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender, and extending the civil rights code to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”
The 2010 Conference is themed Proud to Change the World, Creating an Accepting Future. LGBT students and students from LGBT families have many different barriers that do not allow them to join such career fields as the military, politics, or business. While in school and at home, we often times teach our children that they can become whatever they want to and that they will change the world. It is important to address the different barriers facing LGBT students including discriminatory policies, homelessness, HIV risk, bullying and harassment, and suicide risk.
The mission of the Annual Governors Conference on LGBT Youth is to a) engage and educate students, educators, parents, community leaders, youth-serving professionals, policy makers, and others concerned about issues relevant to the LGBT community, and b) encourage networking and activism to inspire our communities to promote diversity, equality, and social justice.
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