• by Sara Guaglione , April 26, 2018

Teen Vogue is hosting its second summit this June, targeting the political and social issues teens find most important — from gun control to the environment.

The three-day event will be hosted in New York at The New School, with the theme #TurnUp. It will feature everyone from young gun control activists from Ferguson, Sandy Hook and Chicago to Rosario Dawson, actress and cofounder of Voto Latino and Dolores Huerta, of the Dolores Huerta Foundation.

“#TurnUp is a call to action,” Teen Vogue Chief Content Officer Phillip Picardi told Publishers Daily. “We want to inspire and motivate young people to turn up for the issues they are interested in. And to create the positive changes they want to see in the world.”

Picardi said feedback from Teen Vogue readers and attendees of the previous summit held in Los Angeles in December revealed its audience “are activated and interested in many different issues impacting their worlds.

“Some of the issues our audience cares about most right now are gun control, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration reform, reproductive justice, fake news and the media and the environment. The summit will hit upon those important touch points,” he added.

Picardi noted these concerns are important to the cohort of Teen Vogue’s audience not yet of voting age.

“It's never too early to start thinking about what you care about, so that when you do turn 18, you're an educated voter and know what issues are most important to you,” he said.

Teen Vogue has recently taken a strong stance on political and social issues. It has seen positive results from its updated editorial message: Teens can care just as much about beauty and wellness as they do about news and politics.

An op-ed written by Emma Gonzalez, a Stoneman Douglas High School student who survived the shooting in Parkland, Florida, is the top-performing Teen Vogue cover story of all time on the website, Picardi said. She is one of the speakers at the summit.

The June event will also have time for lighter topics important to teens: time to meditate and socialize, practice self-care and watch empowering performances.  

A series of keynotes, workshops, mentor sessions and volunteer opportunities will feature activists such as Halima Aden, Hunter Schafer and Gabrielle Giffords, as well as Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, founder and editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl.com, and William Lohier, NYC Youth Poet Laureate.

Former president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards will also attend, as will former Vice President Al Gore.

Condé Nast’s in-house experiential agency 23 Stories will produce the event. Returning sponsors include Facebook Messenger, PBteen and TOMS; Freehand New York will sponsor the event for the first time.