The Merrill-Palmer Institute at Wayne State University is hosting its 20th annual Metropolitan Detroit Teen Conference on Thursday, Nov. 6th from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom on the main campus in Detroit. The conference will host 300 ninth and 10th graders from more than 50 schools and organizations in metro Detroit.

The conference's theme is "Take a Giant Step." The purpose of the conference is to bring metro Detroit teenagers together from diverse backgrounds to spend the day discovering what they have in common. The diversity isn't limited to race, but also includes economic background, inner city, suburban and those from public and private schools. The students will be put in small groups of six to eight people for topical discussions.

The discussion groups, led by trained adult facilitators, help the teens discover their commonalties and focus on positive goals while reinforcing in their own minds that they are empowered to make personal choices in their everyday lives that will steer them in a positive direction.

Founded by the late Mary-Agnes Davis, the Metro Teen conference is designed to help teenagers understand they can make choices in life and provide teens from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to share, learn and understand different points of view.