What Happens When We Let Young People Lead the Conversation? 

Adults spend a lot of time talking about what children need.

We talk about their confidence.

Their friendships.

Their safety.

Their behavior.

Their challenges.

Their resilience.

And when something difficult happens, we often gather adults together to discuss what children are experiencing and what we believe they need from us.

But how often do we stop and ask the young people themselves?

What helped you?

What made things worse?

What did you need from the adults around you?

What do you wish we had understood?

At the 2026 Bullying, Literacy, & Leadership Experience (BLLX), we're making room for those answers.

This Time, the Young People Lead

One of the breakout experiences at BLLX will be different by design.

The young people will lead.

Working alongside her mother, Uso Sayers, eighth grader, author, and entrepreneur Elyse Sayers will help bring a youth perspective directly into a room filled with adults who care for, teach, mentor, coach, counsel, lead, and advocate for children.

The purpose isn't to put young people on display.

It's to listen to them.

Because adults can care deeply about children and have the best intentions in the world—and still misunderstand what a child needs in a difficult moment.

Sometimes the response helps.

Sometimes it doesn't.

And sometimes an adult's response can unintentionally cause additional harm.

That is a conversation worth having.

When a Young Person Comes to Us, Our Response Matters

Imagine a child comes to you and says something happened.

Maybe another student has been repeatedly excluding them.

Maybe someone said something cruel.

Maybe a friendship has become increasingly difficult.

Maybe they're being targeted online.

Maybe what they're describing is bullying.

Maybe it isn't.

Before we decide what happened or rush to solve the problem, there is something else we need to do:

Listen.

What happened?

What was the young person thinking and feeling?

What did they need in that moment?

Did they tell an adult?

What happened after they told?

What did the adult do that helped?

What response made the situation harder?

And what does that young person wish the adults involved had understood?

Those questions are part of the thinking behind the youth-led experience at BLLX.

The goal isn't to ask young people to disclose experiences they aren't comfortable sharing. The goal is to give them appropriate space to contribute something adults don't have:

their perspective.

Meet Elyse Sayers

Elyse Sayers is an eighth grader, author, entrepreneur, and founder of Elyse So Powerful®, a youth empowerment brand created to help children embrace who they are and believe in what they can become through affirmations, literacy, and positive representation.

She is the author of Always Believe in Yourself! and its accompanying activity book. Through Elyse So Powerful®, she has expanded that message to affirmation cards, apparel, and other confidence-building resources that encourage young people to speak positively about themselves, recognize their strengths, and believe in their potential.

And Elyse isn't waiting until adulthood to explore her own potential.

She plays piano and violin, sings in chorus, plays golf, holds a green belt in Tang Soo Do and is a trainee instructor. She is also a Girl Scout working toward her Silver Award and volunteers through her church, school, and family.

Through Elyse So Powerful®, her message to other young people is simple but important:

You don't have to wait until you're an adult to use your ideas, talents, and voice to make a difference.

That makes Elyse's participation in BLLX particularly meaningful.

We aren't simply going to talk about youth voice.

We're going to make room for it.

Meet Uso Sayers

Behind Elyse is a mother who has been intentional about helping her daughter develop that voice without taking ownership of it for her.

Uso Sayers is a technology governance leader, entrepreneur, mentor, and mother of two who believes deeply in helping young people recognize their voice, value, and potential.

As the driving force behind the business and brand development of Elyse So Powerful®, Uso works alongside Elyse as the brand continues to grow.

But there is an important distinction in how she approaches that work.

Supporting Elyse isn't simply about helping her daughter build a successful business.

It's about creating space for Elyse to lead, make decisions, take risks, learn from mistakes, and discover what she is capable of—while still having the guidance and support of a parent.

Through that journey, Uso also became increasingly aware of childhood literacy challenges and the importance of children seeing themselves represented in what they read.

That connection between literacy, representation, confidence, and self-belief has become an important part of their work together.

Professionally, Uso brings more than 20 years of leadership experience spanning technology, audit, risk management, consulting, and program management, including leadership roles with Warner Bros. Discovery, Google, PwC, and Johnson Lambert.

She is also the founder of Karibea Events and has long served as a mentor, community volunteer, and advocate for developing the next generation of leaders.

What Would You Have Done?

During the youth-led BLLX experience, adults won't simply be asked to listen.

They'll also be challenged to think.

Imagine hearing about a situation involving a young person and being asked:

What would you have done?

Now imagine hearing the young person's answer:

Here's what I actually needed you to do.

That difference matters.

There can be a gap between what adults believe is helpful and what a child experiences as helpful.

Closing that gap begins with listening.

It requires adults to resist immediately dismissing, minimizing, labeling, fixing, lecturing, or assuming.

Sometimes a child needs action.

Sometimes they need protection.

Sometimes they need guidance.

Sometimes another adult needs to become involved.

But before we can determine what comes next, we need to understand what the young person is telling us.

Confidence Is More Than Feeling Good About Yourself

Confidence is often discussed as though it's simply believing you're good enough.

For children, it can be much more practical than that.

Confidence can mean having the courage to say:

I don't like that.

Stop.

Something happened.

I need help.

That's not okay.

I disagree.

I have something to say.

And then believing that when they use their voice, someone will listen.

That's where youth empowerment and adult responsibility meet.

We want children to develop strong voices.

But the adults around them have to create environments where those voices can actually be used.

Youth Voice Belongs at BLLX

BLLX is designed for adults.

But an experience intended to better equip adults to support children would be incomplete without hearing from young people themselves.

Throughout the day, attendees will learn from professionals in education, literacy, leadership, law, advocacy, and other areas.

This session adds another kind of expertise:

lived experience from the young person's perspective.

Not because children should be expected to solve these problems themselves.

And not because adults should surrender their responsibility to guide, protect, teach, and intervene.

But because we can do those things better when we're willing to listen to the children we're trying to support.

That is part of what it means to become an equipped adult.

Join Uso and Elyse at BLLX 2026

The 2026 Bullying, Literacy, & Leadership Experience is a one-day, hands-on learning experience designed for adults who support children at home, in schools, and throughout the community.

Saturday, October 31, 2026
10:00 AM–3:00 PM
Doors open at 9:00 AM

The Morrow Center
Morrow, Georgia

General Admission: $95 + applicable taxes and fees
Optional Box Lunch: $15

BLLX is designed for parents, educators, school counselors, social workers, mentors, coaches, youth leaders, faith leaders, community advocates, after-school professionals, and other adults who support and serve children.

Come prepared to learn.

Come prepared to participate.

And in this session, come prepared to listen to the young people.

Because if we want children to use their voices, we have to be willing to hear what they have to say.

EQUIPPED ADULTS. STRONGER CHILDREN.