ELLSWORTH, Maine — Nonprofit The Hardy Girls brings back its annual "Be You Boldly" Conference for its year to empower the next generation of powerful thinkers and go-getters in the state.
Aimed toward young girls and nonbinary youth from fourth to eight grade, the goal of the conference is to create a space where kids are at the forefront of conversations when being a kid can at times be tough.
"Girls [and] especially nonbinary youth are facing a lot of social pressures. ... This is when they're developing their social identities," executive director Adrienne Carmack said. "Our mission as an organization is to put the power back into the hands of young people."
Fully run by high schoolers on the nonprofit's Feminist Action Board (FAB), students are able to learn from their peers on a variety of topics from creating healthy relationships to learning how to get involved in activism.
"The world is theirs, and they can change it, shape it, create it to whatever they choose to," FAB leader Emily Carlton said.
Carlton returned to lead the program this year, before growing upcoming every year as a young kid. She said being able to pass along the confidence she gained to the next generation of Mainers is something she looks forward to.
"Often times in society, young girls and nonbinary youth are undervalued, their voices aren't heard, they're pushed to the side," Carlton said. "We want to make them feel like they belong and that their voice has an impact because it does!"
This year's conferences will bring in around 400 participants, and will be hosted in Bangor, Waterville, and Portland all this week.