Pittsburgh kids are given their due with new focus at Inclusive Innovation Week

Pittsburgh teens are invited to hang out, geek out and mess around as Inclusive Innovation Week launches the first ever Youth Innovation Night on April 6 – all part of the weeklong program’s newly added youth component.

“We’re really looking at engaging youth more intently,” says Christine Marty, Pittsburgh civic innovation specialist.

First, some backgrond: The third annual Inclusive Innovation Week, set for April 2-8 and organized by the City of Pittsburgh and Urban Redevelopment Authority, is meant to amplify the excitement of what already is going on in Pittsburgh. The idea is to connect organizations to facilitate collaboration and encourage accessibility and inclusion across the city.

The week brings together organizations, businesses and individuals to provide them with a platform to share their work and raise essential conversations.

The “inclusive” label remains true to form. With 60 events in all, held across 25 neighborhoods, the week offers cool aspects at all levels. Mom and dad have their special time, too, with child care provided during evening programs, nearly all of which are free.

“We’re trying to promote and encourage all of these different ideas and excellent work,” Marty says.

Events focus on everything from inclusive innovation in technology to art and culture to sustainability and development. A complete schedule detailing times and locations is available on the Inclusive Innovation Week website.

In the past, events have been geared towards adults. But this year, organizers decided it was important to add a youth-centered component to draw kids to more programs throughout the week and give them a voice.

“We’re hoping it will bring them to the calendar and they’ll say, ‘Oh, I’m 13, but I’m not too young to attend this,’” Marty says. “There’s a lot of ways for youth to get engaged and involved.”

Some of the kid-focused events throughout the week include Girl Powered – Girls of STEM with Robomatter on April 5, and a soccer match on April 7, led by Pittsburgh Soccer in the Community, Cameroon Football Development Program and Global Wordsmiths.

The big youth-centered day will be held on April 6 at Nova Place.

• From 3 to 7 p.m., CoLab 18 will teach the basics of GitHub, which brings together the world’s largest community of developers to discover, share and build better software. The program is open to everyone, but is youth-friendly, Marty says.
• Youth Innovation Night will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. While teens hang out, organizations will be present to showcase summer program offerings in the Pittsburgh area. Teens will have the chance to play around with technology, crafts and tools. Or they can geek out exploring computers and technology in the space.
• At the same time, PGH in 360: Youth Perspectives will bring together community organizations to teach young people to produce 360-degree videos that express their views on life in Pittsburgh and issues that matter to them. The program was piloted in March by 1Hood Media and Stitcbridge.
• More fun is planned during the Games for Change News Literacy Game Jam with Common Sense Media.

To cap off the week, kids will share their thoughts on how they envision the future of an inclusive and innovative Pittsburgh in TEDx-style talks at the week’s closing event on April 8 in the Homewood-Brushton Branch YMCA.

Pittsburgh CAPA senior Cassandra Brown, 18, will share her thoughts on making your mark as a teen.

“We are the future. We have to start young,” she says. “Youth honestly today are making the world a better place.”