Sophie D’Arcy, president of Kids Speaking Up, was the keynote speaker Saturday at the National Federation of Press Women conference in San Antonio, Texas.

At the scholarship luncheon, D’Arcy spoke about Kids Speaking Up, a local nonpartisan group dedicated to combating ignorance and apathy in young people, and about the importance of free media in a democratic society.

D’Arcy described the many activities students have engaged in during the past five years, educating themselves about social, national and global issues.

Kids Speaking Up is a student-run group that contributes weekly columns to Noozhawk and publishes an annual magazine of the students’ writings about issues that are important to them.

Kids Speaking Up is starting its sixth year. The fifth issue of Kids Speaking Up Magazine was just published.

More than 100 women attending the conference gave D’Arcy a standing ovation at the end of her speech. She hopes the information she spoke about will inspire the media women from around the country to support students in their respective states to become knowledgeable and active in social, national and global issues.