Mission
Voices United is a non-profit organization that fosters cross-cultural understanding and youth action through creative expression, empowering our youth to become tolerant and caring leaders for a better future. Voices United empowers multi-cultural youth to transform hatred into understanding, prejudice into respect, violence into peaceful collaboration, and cynicism into hope.
Voices United shall utilize the performing arts to:
Empower young people
Empower young people to create and promote solutions to community, national, and world problems.
Provide opportunities
Provide opportunities for young people to explore, develop and share their visions and concerns, and propose solutions to some of the many problems that we face on a global level without endorsing political, ideological, or religious preferences.
Conflict Resolution Skills
Provide opportunities for young people to learn and use conflict resolution skills.
Provide a Safe Environment
Provide a safe and accepting environment for young people that develops self-esteem and allows to reach their full potential.
Understanding, Tolerance, and Appreciation
Promote inter-cultural and inter-racial understanding, tolerance, and appreciation.
History
Voices United, formerly Peace Child Miami, was created in 1989 by 17 year old Katie Christie, a high school senior at Miami’s New World School of the Arts. After traveling to the Soviet Union for a Peace Child arts exchange program, Christie noticed that young people of different races and cultures did not get along or respect each other’s differences.
She also felt that young people faced a multitude of problems without any way to address their concerns. To respond to these challenges, Christie created Voices United to give the young people of Miami a voice. The impact of that voice has been tremendous: over 800 youth from the Miami area have participated in performances seen by 20,000 people, bringing to light the concerns of today’s youth.
Past Programs
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1989
Peace Child
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1990 & 1991
City At Peace
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1991
Kids For Kids (cast of hearing impaired and hearing students)
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1992 & 1993
Be A Family
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1994 & 1995
Standing Tall
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1995
Wings of Love Japan (Cast of Japanese & American students)
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1996
Stand for Children in Washington D.C.
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1996 & 1997
Real Life
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1990 - 1998
City At Peace Crew (Touring Company)
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1995 – 1997
Summer Leadership Forum
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2006
Present – Voices United Touring Company
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2007
Help Wanted
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2008
Unspoken Voice
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2008
Common Ground - Peace Child World Youth Congress in Quebec City
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2009
Lost & Found
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2009
Summer Leadership Forum
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2010
Break The Chain
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2010
Beacons of Hope – Peace Child World Youth Congress in Istanbul, Turkey
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2011
The Story Within Me
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2012
Portal 108
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2012
Voices United Lesotho (cast of Basotho & American Youth)
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2013
Global Ties
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2014
25th Anniversary Celebration
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2015
Every 28 Hours
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2017
Ancestors in the Garden
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2020
Emerging Artist Showcase
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2020
Alumni Caberet
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2020
JustUs Collective
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2021
Every 28 Hours Plays