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JOIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF FREE EXPRESSION ADVOCATES

PEN America is committed to empowering a new generation of free expression advocates and building a youth advocacy network that can work together to facilitate positive change. We regularly invite students to support and engage in our national and international advocacy efforts, and actively seek ways to amplify and encourage students’ own free expression advocacy projects.
PEN America Youth Advocates lead vigil for Ukraine
Next Gen PEN America

Get notified about Next Gen PEN America opportunities:

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Upcoming Institutes for Summer 2023

Los Angeles - June 26-30, 2023

Los Angeles - June 26-30, 2023

Open to high school and college students. Admissions are rolling.
Learn More
New York - July 17-21, 2023

New York - July 17-21, 2023

Open to high school students. Admissions are rolling.
Learn More
Washington, DC - July 31 - August 4, 2023

Washington, DC - July 31 - August 4, 2023

Open to high school students. Admissions are rolling.
Learn More
Miami  - August 8-10, 2023

Miami - August 8-10, 2023

Open to high school students. Admissions are rolling.
Learn More

More Opportunities

Freedom to Read Student Ambassadors Town Halls

Freedom to Read Student Ambassadors Town Halls

Led by graduates of PEN America and Brooklyn Public Library’s Freedom to Read Advocacy Institute, this series convenes high school students for monthly online town halls to meet and collaborate on advocacy against book bans.
Register Now
Free Expression Essay Competition

Free Expression Essay Competition

PEN America is inviting submissions for a national student essay competition about the role of free expression in today’s world. If you’re in high school or college, PEN America wants to know what you think about the threats to this crucial right!
Learn More
Free Expression Leadership Fellows Program - Summer 2023

Free Expression Leadership Fellows Program - Summer 2023

PEN America is offering a 14-week professional Free Expression Leadership Fellows Program for undergraduate and graduate students passionate about human rights, the written word, and free expression in the United States and worldwide.
Learn More
Join our LinkedIn Group

Join our LinkedIn Group

Networking is key in the professional field of free expression advocacy. Former fellows, interns, and students of PEN America are invited to join our LinkedIn group to stay in touch.
Join us

Events

Freedom to Read Student Ambassadors Town Hall – May 2023
TueMay 232023

Freedom to Read Student Ambassadors Town Hall – May 2023

Free Event Online Student Town Hall Town Halls Virtual

Freedom to Read Student Ambassadors Town Hall – July 2023

ThuJuly 132023
Free Event Online Student Town Hall Town Halls Virtual
  PEN America and Brooklyn Public Library are excited to continue our Freedom to Read Student Ambassadors Town Halls for high school students this July! This collaborative forum for our certified Freedom to Read Student Ambassadors and other young advocates will allow participants to connect with each other and share successful advocacy solutions in the […]

Global Press Freedom Student Summit – New York City

TueJune 132023
Free Event In Person Student Summit
PEN America is coming to the San Francisco Public Library this March to host our first-ever Freedom to Learn Student Summit for high school students in Northern California.

2023 Pride Picnic with Next Gen PEN America

FriJune 162023
Free Event Student Summit
PEN America and the Artists at Risk Connection “Let’s Say Gay! Picnic and Play” will celebrate LGBTQ+ literature and activism during Pride.
See more

Past Guest Speakers

Kirill Artemenko

CEO, Paperpaper
Nora Benavidez headshot

Nora Benavidez

Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights, Free Press

Amanda Bennett

Pulitzer Prize-winning Author and Journalist

Neijma Celestine-Donnor

Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, University of Maryland-Baltimore School of Social Work

Troy Closson

Metro Reporter, The New York Times

Alex Gino

Author and Activist

Hadar Harris

Executive Director, Student Press Law Center

Dr. Faizullah Jan

Journalist, Dawn Newspaper

David Kaye

Clinical Professor of Law, UC Irvine

Amna Khalid

Associate Professor in the Department of History, Carleton College
Mai Khoi headshot

Mai Khoi

Artist and Activist

Julia Rose Kraut

Author

Susan Kuklin

Author and Photographer

Frank LoMonte

Director, Brechner Center for Freedom of Information
Writers at Risk Database

Wa Lone

Journalist, Reuters

Paul Muldoon

Poet

Fallon McClure

Georgia State Director, Spread the Vote
Ahmed Naji

Ahmed Naji

Author

Rikki Nathanson

Senior Advisor, Global Trans Program, OutRight Action International

Solomon Collins Nkulinga

Program Assistant, Disability Rights Fund and the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund
Achiro Patricia Olwoch

Achiro Patricia Olwoch

Writer, playwright, and filmmaker

Gregory Pardlo

Author and Poet

Daniel Alejandro Pinilla

Journalist, Human Rights Advocates Program at Columbia

Rachel Sanchez-Keneally

Government Liaison and Program Coordinator, IOM

Emerson Sykes

Staff Attorney, Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Bakary Tandia

Co-Founder, The Abolition Institute

Mary Beth Tinker

Vladimir Tlali

Director, New York State LGBT Human and Health Services Network

Laurence H. Tribe

Carl M. Loeb University Professor and Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School

Bukeni Waruzi

Executive Director, Free the Slaves