The youth summit, which engages adolescent students, public officials, and lawyers in discourse and deliberation about critical social problems and legal issues, is becoming a popular method of law-related education. Youth summits are an important part of law-related education, especially as they address violence prevention. Youth summits bring together students from diverse backgrounds and ask them to work with adults to confront social problems and issues that affect them.
Participants have a chance to present their ideas and opinions to policymakers.
Thus they can influence law and government through resolution of public issues. Youth summits also offer opportunities for participants to learn new skills and knowledge, and instill in young people a sense of responsibility for developing and participating in solutions to the challenges facing their communities. Youth summits bring diverse experts and speakers from a variety of backgrounds, including police chiefs, juvenile justice officials, college and university professors, members of Congress, lawyers, judges from various courts including the state supreme court, television personalities, and many others. The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Youth for Justice Program has been promoting youth summits since 1995. A variety of models are used, varying in size from fewer than 50 students to over a thousand.