The scales of big thinking were present in the big apple; over 500 Kidults attended along with over 15 exhibitors and plenty of guest speakers. The first Kidult Youth Leadership Conference greatly promotes curiosity while thinking big, the central themes for the presentations.
This promotion is lead by Pharrell Williams, a music artist who works hard to express himself in many ways by harboring creative thoughts and channeling them through different mediums. His latest is kidult.com, a youth empowerment website created by with friend Mimi Valdez. Williams, influenced by childhood and bias in the media, made this site so aspiring youth who like mature topics (AKA Kidults) can be informed without taking sides.
Many students enjoy traveling to be informed during summer vacations, thus opening themselves to opportunities of attending conferences. KYLC offers budget friendly ticket prices, along with deals on airfare and accommodations. Due to the various topics covered by the website, a plethora of information from various exhibitors and mentors were presented to interest attendees. The expo held friendly and helpful sponsors such as The Common Ground Foundation, Young Biz, and She’s The Finest. Segments kept the atmosphere varied with information as well, including 26 speakers including familiar names Boss Lady, Datwon Thomas, and Steve Perry. Between booths and speakers, the connection of networking is natural with fellow Kidults. The conference winds down with more time for expos and mentors, concluding with a talent showcase.
Pharrell’s innovative connection with young followers is explained while mentioning is forte of music. He talks about how he is able to keep up with a generation of followers while making relevant music.
“Because you guys are human beings,” Williams begins, “I don’t look at age, I look at feeling. More than anything, I’m always learning. There’s no age limit on talent and getting better, which is the reason why I expanded in my music and do more than one thing.”
When one becomes an inspiration to the aspiring, they aspire the inspiration to think big and feed curiosity. The actions spurring from those dimensions are informative, innovative, and filled with opportunities. Those same words can be said about the Kidult Youth Leadership Conference.