OutFront Minnesota and the GSA Network are organizing the 3rd annual LGBTQ youth summit on March 2 which will bring 400 high school students from around the state together “to develop skills to build power and create positive change in their schools and their communities,” according to a statement from OutFront.

Students will gather at the Wellstone Center in St. Paul where attendees will participate in morning workshops which are created and led by student participants.

In the afternoon, students will head to the Capitol in St. Paul to talk with legislators about issues facing LGBTQ youth. The summit had an important role last year at the Minnesota Legislature as lawmakers debated, and eventually passed, the Safe and Supportive Minnesota Schools Act, a LGBT-inclusive law which greatly strengthened Minnesota’s anti-bullying statutes.

Zach Marleau participated in last year’s summit and plans to attend again this year.

“When the Safe Schools Bill was implemented I had hope for future students to experience a level of support from their school systems and government that I did not have the privilege of experiencing,” he told The Column. “Now, I anticipate an accepting and safe future for all.”

For Marleau, the summit was also important in empowering youth not only from an advocacy standpoint, but also from a personal one.

“2014’s Youth Summit was an empowering moment of LGBTQA youth standing together for protection and equality for students,” he said in an email. “To add to that, it meant more to me than I can comprehend. The experience of the day long event gave me the knowledge that I am safe and supported in my school and my community; that is why I came out as gay later that night to one of my very close friends. The atmosphere that was created by Youth Summit brought a level of internal confidence and self-expression to me that I had not yet felt.”

In 2015, Marleau notes there are some pressing issues facing youth that need to be addressed. “Currently we, the LGBTQA community, are going through times of inequality — especially in dealing with the safety of black lives and trans lives. At Youth Summit those are two main issues that will be spoken about and discussed.”

The themes for 2015’s workshops include:

• Building Power in School Based Clubs
• Black Lives Matter
• Art for Self-Expression & Social Change
• Self Care
• Intersections of Identity
• Effective GSAs
• Coming Out
• Trans: Stories, Issues & What It’s Like to Be Trans at School
• LGBTQ Movement Beyond Marriage
• Mental Health

Youth interested in attending the 2015 summit, and community members wishing to sponsor the summit, can find details at OutFront Minnesota’s website.