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NYC Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes Kicks Off "Hate Crimes Awareness Month" With Announcement of New Youth Ambassador Program and Traveling Student Art Exhibit
New Youth Ambassador Leadership Program Kicks off Wednesday Afternoon, Empowering NYC Students to Take Stand Against Hate, Bias, and Discrimination – and Promote Safer Communities
Traveling Exhibit Will Recognize 26 Distinguished Pieces from Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes’ Annual Student Art Contest, “HeARTwork Against Hate”
NEW YORK (Oct. 1, 2025) – The Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC) announced today the creation of a new Youth Ambassador Leadership Program, which will empower young leaders to speak out against bias and discrimination, promote inclusion, and help make New York City schools and communities safer.
OPHC also announced it will launch a new multi-borough HeARTwork Against Hate traveling student art exhibit, celebrating 26 contest winners, between the ages of 9 and 18, for using art to take a stand against hate, bias, and discrimination.
“These students are an inspiration — using art to inspire change," said OPHC Executive Director Vijah Ramjattan. "It reminds us that young people are powerful allies in the fight against hate."
“There are few better ways to prevent bias and hate crimes than teaching kids while they're young,” said Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice Director Deanna Logan. “By fostering conversations about inclusivity and respect among young New Yorkers, OPHC is taking a novel approach to an age-old problem. I couldn't be prouder."
The new OPHC Youth Ambassador Leadership Program will train, support, and give opportunities to students to lead initiatives to prevent hate and build understanding in their community.
Its first meeting will take place Wednesday, Oct. 1. Selected students and Executive Director Ramjattan will be available for interviews:
5:00pm-6:30pm
1 Centre Street, Manhattan
North Mezzanine
Parents can sign up for more information on the Youth Ambassador Leadership Program here: https://forms.office.com/g/QGtbEkR0c9
The “HeARTwork Against Hate” art initiative was launched to engage youth in meaningful conversations about respect and inclusion through artistic expression. As part of OPHC’s ongoing commitment to educating young people about hate crimes, students are encouraged to share their voices and solutions through creativity — helping build a more united and empathetic city.
Winners received prizes of up to $500 each and their work will be displayed at various locations throughout the fall.
"Going to a public school in New York City, I deeply appreciate the chance to meet a wide variety of people from different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds...[and] as teens like me move on into the next stages of our life, this appreciation and acceptance of all types of people will be crucial to keeping hate off of the streets of New York City," Violet Asaro, a Brooklyn high schooler, said in describing her HeARTwork winning piece called "3 Friends, 1 School.”
"We should all be accepting of one another on the Earth, no matter what color we are, what gender we are, what race we are, or even what religion we are,” said Abigail Ramnarine, a Queens sixth-grader, of the inspiration behind her HeARTwork winning piece called "Gaia’s Embrace.”
For more information on OPHC’s annual anti-hate art competition, visit HeARTwork Against Hate online.
October is recognized by groups across the globe as Hate Crimes Awareness Month, in order to highlight the problem of hate crimes – and potential solutions – to the public, advocates, and policymakers.
Full HeARTwork Against Hate Winner list: (with grades at the time of entry, Spring 2025)
Grades 3-5
First Place: Suraiya Zaman, Grade 5, Queens
Second Place: Samina Abdullaeva, Grade 4, Queens
Third Place: Abigail Ramnarine, Grade 5, Queens
Honorable Mention: Wynter Zimmerman, Bronx
Honorable Mention: Alisa Mou, Queens
Honorable Mention: Jinan Alam, Queens
Honorable Mention: Sarika Das, Queens
Honorable Mention: Veda Debidin, Queens
Honorable Mention: Zop Kupperman, Queens
Honorable Mention: Brianna Pastuisaca, Queens
Grades 6-8
First Place: Daisy Dial, Grade 7, Manhattan
Second Place: Rocio Doliner, Grade 8, Brooklyn
Third Place: Saskia Sjoberg, Grade 8, Manhattan
Honorable Mention: Eloise Chen, Queens
Honorable Mention: Camila Arrata, Queens
Honorable Mention: Willow Blackmore, Brooklyn
Honorable Mention: Shneori Zik, Brooklyn
Grades 9-12
First Place: Yanfei Chen, Grade 9, Queens
Second Place: Juliet Peralta, Grade 9, Brooklyn
Third Place: Violet Asaro, Grade 11, Brooklyn
Honorable Mention: Lucy Booth, Brooklyn
Honorable Mention: Tatiana Soloveva, Brooklyn
Honorable Mention: Anaïs Kozerski, Brooklyn
Honorable Mention: Weijing Lin, Bronx
Honorable Mention: Elsamarie Rodriguez, Brooklyn
Honorable Mention: Mia Toogood, Brooklyn
About the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC): As part of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, OPHC takes a holistic approach to preventing hate crimes, developing and coordinating community-driven prevention strategies to address biases fueling such crimes, and fostering healing for victims and their communities. The agency coordinates the city’s efforts through a committee consisting of over 20 agencies and all five district attorney hate crimes units, as well as networks of community-based providers and organizations. It works with partners to develop approaches to preventing hate violence, resources to promote reporting of incidents, and responses for when hate crimes occur. For more information, visit nyc.gov/stophate.
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