LEWISTON – Youth and adults entered into dialogue last fall, and lots of community action has been the result. Youth + Adults + Dialogue = Action (YADA) has been true to its name, and news will be shared at a Thursday, June 26, YADA LA Celebration at Callahan Hall, Lewiston Public Library, 200 Lisbon St.

From 6 to 8 p.m., attendees will hear about new community initiatives aimed at making Lewiston-Auburn more youth friendly and youth empowered.

To start the evening, Cheney Larock, a Lewiston High School musician who recently participated in a YADA spin-off Bates College-Lewiston High School arts initiative, will provide acoustic music.

Welcoming remarks will be made followed by Bates College Harward Center representative Ellen Alcorn, a member of the YADA Steering Committee, facilitating a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the positive journey YADA dialogue set in motion.

Following that, updates from four “action groups” will describe what is happening in the areas of developing a youth community center; enhancing arts and culture; plans under way to launch a YADA LA Web site, an online forum for youth activities and opportunities; and efforts to increase youth civic engagement.

Athena Andoniades and Tyler Lussier, trained YADA youth facilitators, will give an update on their recent attendance at a “Making Every Voice Matter” Everyday Democracy Conference in Denver where they gave a presentation on YADA.

An interactive part of the evening will provide attendees with a “Gallery Walk,” where they can go to posters denoting the above action groups and write down their own ideas and suggestions for growth and success.

The evening will close with the display of a YADA Community Partner Award for Outstanding New Initiative from the Bates College Harward Center, as well as an invitation for additional residents to become engaged with YADA as a way to make every voice matter.

More information may be obtained by contacting YADA Steering Committee Chairman Larry Marcoux at 795-4000 or via [email protected] or Lewiston Community Relations Coordinator Dottie Perham-Whittier at 513-3121, ext. 3205, (TTY/TDD – 513-3007) or via [email protected].