NW Ambassadors Educate At-Risk Youth at T.R.I.G.G.E.R Event in D.C.
BY JULIA DAVIS, NEGOTIATION WORKS INTERN AND COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT, AND MIHRET WILLIS, NEGOTIATION WORKS INTERN AND AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENT
Every year since 2021, the T.R.I.G.G.E.R Project has hosted a citywide conference and festival working to identify the root causes of urban gun violence, build prevention strategies, and promote the end of gun violence. Bringing together community youth, survivors, and those who have lost loved ones to gun violence, along with artists, musicians, and D.C. nonprofit organizations, the festival aims to create a space of education and support. Especially aimed at educating youth about the impacts and causes of gun violence, students from local middle and high schools were bussed over to attend the festival, listen to speakers, and interact with community organizations working towards ending gun violence. An estimated 500 youth attended the event, making it an ideal setting to spread information and strategies to these kids, helping them advocate for the end of gun violence and gain skills to resolve conflicts effectively and safely in their communities.
This year Negotiation Works was one of the participating nonprofit organizations, spreading information to D.C. youth about the importance of negotiation. Negotiation Works Ambassadors staffed a table where they asked youth to think through a conflict they were experiencing and consider how negotiation strategies might help them solve their disputes productively. Emphasizing the importance of perspective-taking and talking one-on-one with youth about the issues they are experiencing and how they might work through it, Ambassadors were able to have meaningful and productive conversations with all those who approached the table. Sharing their experiences and negotiation expertise with these young people was a positive experience for all involved, with both Ambassadors and youth coming away from the conversations with a newfound connection.
Amy Cashman, one of the Ambassadors who attended the event, shared that the participants were “able to talk about a conflict they were having and see it from the other person’s point of view.” She thinks that spreading these types of negotiation and conflict resolution strategies is “incredibly important because we don’t often think about how the other person feels or thinks during a conflict,” and that the conversations were helpful and insightful to all the kids and parents at the event.
Negotiation Works Ambassadors are individuals who have participated in one of Negotiation Works’ classes and want to stay involved with the organization and contribute to its mission of educating community members about negotiation. Amy said she was immediately inspired by Negotiation Works’ goals and messages after attending a class and was encouraged to learn more about negotiation skills. She appreciates “that this course helps establish that we have developed a trade and that we can continue to learn about negotiation and use it on a professional level,” adding that Negotiation Works and the Ambassador program have been extremely helpful in allowing her to remain engaged and further hone her skills in the right direction.
Damon Donelson-Bey, another Ambassador, said he chose to join the Ambassadors program because of the opportunities it has given him to work with people in the community to show that “negotiation is a part of every conversation.” He has especially appreciated how being an Ambassador has allowed him to serve as a positive mentor for kids. He said, “kids want to resolve conflicts but do not have the skills to resolve a situation all the time,” which highlights the importance of teaching negotiation skills to this group.
Thanks to their continued interest in spreading negotiation skills to community youth, the Ambassadors eagerly took charge of representing Negotiation Works at the T.R.I.G.G.E.R Project’s End Gun Violence Conference and Festival.
The Ambassadors meet regularly to discuss their goals for the program and any tasks that they want to take on. Numerous Negotiation Works Ambassadors are actively engaged in the organization and in spreading its mission, in addition to their own community projects and programs. When asked about future projects he would want the ambassadors to take on, Damon said he would like to do a demonstration for a youth program. For him, kids must be exposed to negotiation skills and see them in practice, so they can build conflict resolution skills early to set them up for success. Amy also hopes to participate in more projects and events in the community, inspired and motivated by the success of the T.R.I.G.G.E.R Project festival. This idea resonated strongly with all the Ambassadors, who said that their work at this event earlier in the summer was just the beginning of their efforts and plans for future outreach and collaboration with youth in the D.C. area.