As part of the Youth Leadership in Activism (YLA) program of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), a human rights organization, senior Vibha Besagi boarded a plane headed to San Francisco in June to attend a three-day, all-expenses-paid training retreat next to the Golden Gate Bridge. There, she joined brainstorming sessions, team-building activities and strategy workshops with student activists from across the country.
Besagi is one of two high school students serving as Slack Community Managers in YLA, where she monitors national channels and develops strategies to increase student engagement in Amnesty organizations across the country. At the training workshop, Besagi implemented ideas such as “Tip Tuesday,” where student chapters receive advice on event planning and increasing participation.
“I got to meet Karla Gonzales Garcia, who is the Director of Gender, Sexuality and Identity at AIUSA, and that was the highlight of the retreat because she’s an activist that I really look up to,” Besagi said.
Besagi discovered YLA through her involvement in AmnestyxStoga. Her experience managing the club’s social media account and her longstanding passion for activism led her to apply for the program. She explains that the training retreat taught her how to better assist new members become active in the organization and speak up for what they think is right. She noted the program shifted her outlook on activism and leadership.
“It’s not just about doing what you can. It’s not just one person’s actions that can make stuff possible. You have to get other people involved and encourage them as much as possible,” Besagi said.
Besagi will continue serving as YLA’s Slack Community Manager until June 2026. She believes YLA offers youth interested in human rights activism an important chance to elevate perspectives that might otherwise go unheard. This belief, she emphasized, reflects YLA’s central mission for students.
“It (YLA) gives youth a way to express themselves, especially since for many high schoolers, since we’re under 18, we can’t exactly vote on things we want. So, this is one way to express our voice, and Amnesty helps amplify our voices and uplift them,” Besagi said. “For both high schoolers and college students, it provides us an outlet to work towards human rights.”
Continuing this year, Besagi hopes to use what she learned from YLA at AmnestyxStoga. She values the breadth of support the training workshop provided.
“We got to learn about a lot of resources, like special initiative funds, where we can ask for funding from AIUSA that is designated for youth groups to make our future events possible,” Besagi said. “I hope to take what I learned from the YLA program retreat and help (AmnestyxStoga) in any way I can.”
Lily Chen can be reached at [email protected].
