Until Adriane Alfred was 13 years old, she spent her summers in her home state of Louisiana, learning about her ancestors and the cultures that had shaped her family. As a young person, little did she know that those summer trips would decades later inspire her to found an organization focused on providing youth with global exposure through civics, STEM, art and advocacy.
Alfred founded Peace Thru Culture (PTC) in 2006, with programming commencing in 2008.
The “boutique organization,” as the founder likes to call it, features global treks to champion international education, Alternative Spring Break, and a trip to the United Nations headquarters in New York City, with both the PTC Corps Global Leadership Program and Global Youth Symposium, which were piloted in 2025.
“I founded [PTC] because I thought that youth should be exposed to different cultures,” Alfred told The Informer. “I thought it was important that they get that exposure so that they can make better life choices and so they can see things differently, and it’s amazing how that’s worked.”
PTC launched its Global Leadership Program this year, which focuses on strengthening high schoolers’ leadership skills by introducing them to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)– a list of 17 environmental and humanitarian goals championing equity and greener practices to be achieved by 2030.
Throughout the program, participating students choose an SDG that interests them and create a project aimed at helping achieve that goal, pushing them to become self-motivated, action-driven changemakers within their communities through hands-on experience.
“The sooner that the youth gets involved with these big world problems, the sooner we can impact the world,” PTC Corps member and D.C. International School (DCI) student, Madeline Karrer, told The Informer at the inaugural Global Youth Symposium.
Teen Changemakers Tackle Hunger, Climate, Equity
The symposium, tailored for students between the ages of 13 and 18, debuted on Sept. 20 at the Riverside Baptist Church in Northeast, D.C., and was used as a way for PTC Corps students to practice the leadership skills they developed throughout the program.
Young leaders hosted a series of breakout sessions that encouraged dozens of attendees to use art, STEM innovation, civics and youth advocacy to amplify their voices and take the steps needed toward social change.
Alfred and the PTC Corps members she has mentored since January introduced attendees to the UN SDGs, hoping to ignite the desire within them to take the initiative to come up with local solutions for these global issues.
“We want them to know that their voice matters,” Alfred told The Informer. “We really want them to understand that they can help to change things, no matter how young they are. They still have a voice.”
Madeline, 15, focused on “Zero Hunger,” the second UN SDG, throughout the PTC Corps Global Leadership Program, using the power in her voice and interest in advocacy to help battle hunger in her community. The high school sophomore went to a local bakery, collected the food the company couldn’t sell, and delivered it to a local church to hand out to people in need.
For her focus, fellow PTC Corps member and DCI sophomore, Samantha Castro, chose “Climate Action,” the 13th UN SDG. The 15-year-old created a campaign in her apartment building, hoping it would inspire residents to think twice about the effects their actions have on the environment and push them to make more sustainable choices.
The teen appreciates the opportunity to speak out and inspire change that PTC offers young people.
“I feel like the youth’s voices are very overlooked,” Samantha told The Informer. “I feel like politics and things like that only focus on the adult perspective and usually ignore how their decisions might impact children.”
Equipping Youth for Global Impact
Alfred hopes the various programming PTC offers equips young people with the tools and confidence necessary to spark positive change in their communities and around the globe, simultaneously providing them with a well-rounded education.
To show students that what they learn in school is used in other places, PTC takes them on a trip abroad, usually to Costa Rica, due to the country’s innovation in STEM and renewable energy.
With these kinds of global treks, Alfred aims to open students’ eyes to the endless possibilities the world has to offer. This programming also helps the students see various UN SDGs in action through travel, such as: affordable and clean energy; industry, innovation and infrastructure; sustainable cities and communities; partnerships for the goals and many more.
“It’s inspiring for them,” Alfred told The Informer at the symposium. “And once that imagination starts, they realize that the world is so different in many places and that they can actually make different choices. That’s what studying abroad is about.”
Alfred hopes that future Global Youth Symposiums grow into something bigger and that the event becomes a mainstay in PTC, along with the leadership program.
At the symposium, Madeline led an exercise that allowed students to discuss different world issues and come up with action-oriented plans to make strides toward solving those problems in or around their communities. People who participated in her activity came up with campaigns they could push at their schools or even on social media.
“I know people say your voice has power all the time, but it really does, and I hope they realize that they have the power to actually follow through with these campaigns,” Madeline told The Informer after leading the breakout session. “Hopefully, they realize that they can make a difference and that these ideas that they’ve come up with today aren’t just hypothetical. They can put this into practice.”