The Clubhouse Network has made the difficult decision to cancel our Teen Summit scheduled for July 14 to 19, 2020, due to the constantly evolving situation involving the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Naturally, we are concerned first and foremost about the health and well-being of the Clubhouse community and don’t want to do anything to increase the risk of spreading the disease.
We recognize that the Teen Summit is a highly anticipated event for our community and, particularly, a formative event for our youth. This is our first time canceling this event in its history and we do not do so lightly. We are already considering how we may deliver some of the Summit content online, though we know this is no substitute for the in-person experience.
We are also working with the host site at Babson College outside Boston to see if we can reschedule the Teen Summit for July 2021. If so, we will raise the age limit from 18 to 19 so that anyone who would have been eligible in 2020 will be able to attend. (Going forward, we would plan to hold Teen Summits in odd-numbered years.) We’ll let you know as soon as we have information about 2021.
We’re making this decision now because it’s at this moment in the Teen Summit season that the most important planning and preparation would be taking place. However, most of our Clubhouses are temporarily closed, severely limiting the important conversations that would be taking place with youth and families. In addition, the likelihood of non-U.S. teens getting visas in the current climate is small, and we don’t want to have a “global” Teen Summit without representation from our entire community.
We know that everyone is dealing with this situation locally and hope you and your loved ones are doing well. As we all strive to make the best of this unprecedented situation, we look forward even more to the future opportunities to gather in person and in community.