A pair of repainted sneakers and a performance piece incorporating dance, spoken word, theater and video are just a couple of examples of projects that Minneapolis youth have worked on this summer to raise awareness of youth violence and how it can be prevented as part of the Summer 612 campaign.

All of the projects will be featured during a showcase event Thursday from 6-8 p.m. at the Minneapolis Central Library. The event is free and open to the public. Register here. Summer 612 is a new program that tries to address one of the city's Blueprint for Action goals: "recognize that violence is learned and can be unlearned by reducing the impact of violent messages in our media, culture and entertainment." The program's goal is to engage at least 1,000 Minneapolis youth through youth-led projects. On Thursday, Summer 612 is supposed to conclude with a showcase of all the work that was done over the summer to raise awareness of youth violence. Projects ranged from a community mural collaboration to a video project of on-the-street interviews of teens talking about how they see violence in their lives. Summer 612 is funded by a grant from the Minneapolis Foundation. The program's culmination comes a few days after the shooting of a 16-year-old boy in the North Side. The latest shooting at 30th and Dupont Avenues N. in north Minneapolis is the third killing of a teen in 30 days on the North Side.