Teen delegates from 13 original colonies convening in Philadelphia for Young People’s Continental Congress

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The nation’s 250th birthday is two years away, but some commemorations are already underway. This July, students and teachers from states that were the 13 original colonies are meeting in Philadelphia for their own Continental Congress.

The Young People’s Continental Congress will convene from July 15 to 20 at Carpenters’ Hall. One student and one teacher from each of the original 13 colonies — Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia — were chosen to learn about the nation’s founding principles and discuss today’s challenges.

The First Continental Congress met in 1774 in Philadelphia —250 years ago — to air grievances with Great Britain, setting the stage for the Declaration of Independence at the Second Continental Congress two years later.

The teen delegates have been meeting online for months. They will meet in person for the first time in July.

“This younger generation is really, really, really smart and honestly knows what they’re talking about,” said Philadelphia student delegate Halimah Fasasi, a 10th-grader at Julia R. Masterman High School. “I think we as a whole can make an impact on the future in great ways.”

Fasasi expects college encampments and students’ First Amendment rights to be topics of debate.

“It just brings up, what really is freedom of speech? What are students allowed to do and say within schools? And that’s why I think it could be such a heated topic when we get there,” she added.

Masterman history teacher Liz Taylor is also a delegate. She said students plan to review 1774 through a contemporary lens.

“I also think we’re going to be looking at the present,” she said. “I think that’s been very clear — how do these ideals of the First Continental Congress play out today?”

Taylor also expects students to examine opinions on American independence 250 years ago.

“That’s important,” she noted, “because if we think that everyone agreed on the revolution, we’d be sorely mistaken. People were divided then just as we’re divided now on different topics.”

In addition to discussing democracy, the students have field trips planned to several sites, including Independence Hall and the National Constitution Center .

The Young People’s Continental Congress will expand in 2025 to include student and teacher delegates from all 50 states, convening in Philadelphia.