Happy New Year from the Dissident Project! (Copy)
Hello again, friends.
Happy New Year from the Dissident Project!
What a year it’s been — we completed 33 speeches in the Fall, surpassing last year’s count by seven speeches, and impacted over 5,000 students face to face. You, our supporters, made all of the highlights possible that made this year unforgettable.
December Speech Highlights!
We can’t forget to clue you into our favorite speech moments from last month. We rounded the year out strong with five events in December:
Evan Mawarire gave two presentations in December. His first of the year, on December 2nd, he visited Plymouth Middle School in Massachusetts. Speaking to a group of over 500 students! This was a new school for the Project, and our host, Ashley Hawthaway, gave a glowing report:
“I just wanted to reach out and say THANK YOU for coming to our middle schools in Plymouth yesterday. We debriefed today and the kids had great feedback. They took so much from what you had to tell us about your story and loved you! They even asked if we could have more speakers come and talk to them! I also received parent emails thanking us for the experience and the great conversations they had over dinner last night. So again, thank you for coming to our schools and sharing your story with us. It was very powerful, meaningful and you were a great presenter.”
On December 10th, he returned to Nashoba Regional High School for our last event of the year, where he gave one speech to 150 students.
Daniel Chang Contreras visited Lake Quinalta High School in Washington on December 3rd, another new school for the Project, helping us reach our goal of reaching 15 new schools with our message of liberty! We are so excited to see the Dissident Project’s network extending!
Mailyn Salabarria returned to Durango, Colo., speaking to 80 students at Mountain MS.
Gabriela Blanco traveled to Katy, Texas, for a conference event at Cinco Ranch High School.These were just a few of the highlights from this month, but it was jam-PACKED with awesome events. We ended up with nine bookings when all was said and done — a project best for the month of September. The year is off to a hot start, and we are thrilled. Stay tuned to hear how we take this momentum into October! It's shaping up to be just as exciting.
A Sneak Peek…
The Dissident Project has a full plate for 2025, including:
A Media Fellowship to highlight the Project’s most exciting and engaged talent
A Bespoke Lecture with our very own Angesom Teklu, in collaboration with the Foundation for Harmony and Prosperity
A collaboration event with the Foundation for Economic Education called, “Voices of Venezuela: Power, Oppression, and Visions of Liberty”
Bring a Speaker to Your School
Do you know of teachers or organizations that would be interested in hosting a dissident? We’d be delighted to send speakers their way. Put us in contact by submitting a request through our booking form, or email Charlie directly at charlie@joinyv.org.
Onward from one busy year to the next! We are as grateful for your support as ever. See you next month, same place, same time.
Warmly,
– Grace
