Youth Media Force and SankofaPOWER interns brought a summer of research, mapping, and media to St. Cloud and showed a room of prevention professionals what young people can lead
On October 13, 5 interns from Asian Media Access (AMA) traveled to St. Cloud for the 2026 Minnesota Prevention Program Sharing Conference, carrying a summer’s worth of work with them. In their youth-led session, Through Youth Lens: Building Safer and Healthier Neighborhoods, interns from two summer programs, Youth Media Force and SankofaPOWER, shared how they used research, mapping, and digital storytelling to take on two challenges facing North Minneapolis: substance use and the lack of affordable fresh food. Both programs were carried out in collaboration with the Frogtown Rondo Black Church Alliance (FRBCA).
Minnesota’s Prevention Conference
The Minnesota Prevention Program Sharing Conference takes place each October and is Minnesota’s only statewide conference focused on the primary prevention of substance misuse. It brings together communities, coalitions, individuals, agencies, and organizations doing prevention work across the state. This year marked the conference’s 52nd convening.
Day one of the two-day conference, October 13, featured a Youth Track for high-school-aged members and leaders of student groups and coalitions working on substance use prevention among their peers. The day opened with a youth networking breakfast and included science-fair-style displays, three youth-centered breakout sessions, and chances to meet prevention professionals and learn about career paths, with breaks for crafts, games, and activities. AMA’s session was one of the three Youth Track breakouts at 10:30am – Noon.
Two Programs, One Approach
Youth Media Force is a paid summer workforce development program that gives young people hands-on training in digital media, storytelling, and community-based project work. This summer, interns focused on neighborhood safety and substance use prevention, producing media that speaks directly to their peers about the risks of substance use and the resources available for prevention and support. Along the way, they built real workforce skills in video, photography, writing, and digital storytelling.
SankofaPOWER is a youth-led initiative that equips young leaders with technology, mapping, and storytelling skills to build digital platforms and resource networks. This summer’s cohort turned those skills toward food justice: mapping food access gaps across North Minneapolis, identifying where residents lack easy access to fresh, healthy food, and building digital tools and resource networks that connect community members to food resources and support long-term solutions to food deserts in the neighborhood.
The two programs share a simple idea: put real tools and real skills in the hands of young people, and let them lead the response to the challenges affecting their own community, while they gain paid work experience and professional skills that carry into their futures.
Inside the Session
The 90-minute session was built in two parts. In the Multimedia Campaigns Showcase, interns presented the materials they created this summer, from prevention messages on substance use to stories and maps on food access in North Minneapolis. In the Youth Panel, interns talked directly with fellow youth attendees about what works when engaging peers: how to develop a message that young people will actually listen to, and how to plan outreach that reaches them where they are.
The interns didn’t stop when their session ended. Throughout the day, they joined other breakout sessions, spoke up in discussions, and visited exhibition tables to learn about prevention work happening across Minnesota.
What People Said
The response was immediate. Attendees and conference staff praised the interns’ presentations and the effort behind their projects, and several asked about inviting the interns to their own events.
“You are the STARs of the Conference!” AMA Executive Director Ange Hwang wrote to the interns the next day, noting that they not only presented well but also took part in the breakout sessions, spoke up at every opportunity, and showed that young people care about and can support social change. A conference organizer was so impressed that she pledged additional gift cards for the interns as a thank-you gifts.
Sian Xiong, AMA’s Communications and Community Development Coordinator, told the interns he heard compliment after compliment about their work. “You represented yourselves and AMA incredibly well,” he wrote, adding that the success went beyond a single conference: it showed others the value of the interns’ hard work, creativity, and dedication.
For most of the interns, this was their first professional conference. Project Coordinator Aeola Lu hoped it gave them a clear sense of how these events work and a lasting impression to take with them.
What Comes Next
Many attendees asked about having the interns present at their future events. AMA is following up to learn what organizers have in mind and what opportunities may be available. Each invitation is a chance to meet new people, grow their professional networks, and open doors toward college and career goals.
Want AMA’s youth team to share their work at your school, coalition, or community event? Contact Asian Media Access, amamedia@amamedia.org · 612-376-7715.
