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On Thursday evening, April 21, 2005, the Santa Monica High School cafeteria was filled with visions for the future at the Shape the Future 2025 Youth Planning Forum, sponsored by the Planning & Community Development Department. The Forum gathered together students from Santa Monica elementary, middle and high schools who have been working on projects centering on planning the City’s future for the past three months in their classrooms and after-school programs. 

The array of projects included models, posters, a PowerPoint slide show, and photo albums and workbooks, all documenting a range of viewpoints of the City today and visions for the future. Students proudly explained their projects and ideas to the 100 or so parents, teachers, students and other community members who stopped by.

The Open House was followed by a program in Barnum Hall, with presentations by students ranging from 3rd through 12th grade from SMASH, Franklin, Edison, Lincoln, Police Activities League (PAL) Youth Directors Council, and Santa Monica High School. Mayor O’Connor started off the presentations with inspirational words and acknowledgements to all the students and teachers who put their time and energy into being part of this community-wide project.  

The event was filmed by Santa Monica CityTV, and a news segment will begin airing on Santa Monica Update, Monday, May 9th. It will play daily for two weeks at 9am, 12 noon, 6pm and 10:30pm. Overall, over 500 students participated in the project through a school or organization.

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