Act! Speak! Build week is a worldwide, student-initiated week of advocacy that seeks to empower young people to educate themselves and their communities and move them to social action. Young people aged 5-25 work in partnership with the local affiliates to plan and host events ranging from speaker panels and rallies to letter-writing campaigns and meetings with elected officials, all focused on ending poverty housing. Act! Speak! Build! Week was initiated in 2002 by the Campus Chapters Advisory Board, a group of student leaders from across the country involved with Habitat. The event, then known as HabiFest, grew in later years, involving 175 chapters in 2003, and over 225 in 2004. In 2004, the event refocused itself on advocacy efforts and introduced the National Advocacy Campaign, a series of four nationwide advocacy events.

The event continued to grow in scope in 2005, as over 200 U.S. campus chapters and 11 international groups participated in the newly re-named and expanded week of activities. In 2006, groups of youth outside the campus chapter program were eligible to participate. Over 280 groups of youth from diverse organizations, such as scouting, religious youth groups, student governments and service organizations, registered.

To learn more, visit the Campus Chapters and Youth Programs website:
http://www.habitat.org/ccyp/act%5Fspeak%5Fbuild/