It’s hard to imagine our 2009 pilot program being more successful! Youth Empowered Action Camp was powerful and transformative not only for the 15 campers but also for the 8 staff. As a staff, we were inspired by the campers' passion and enthusiasm, their silliness and kindness, their commitment and boldness, their compassion and their desire to make the world a better place.
Check out our Activities page and our day by day rundown below for details.
Day 1: Everyone is welcomed, safe, known, and having fun
Day 2: Exploration and Passion
Day 3: Passion Into Action
Day 4: Confidence and Power
Day 5: Community, Acknowledgment and Completion
We are blown away by how much we covered in just 4+ days at camp last summer, and that we also had time for 2 dance parties, an ice cream social (everyone loved the vegan ice cream), 3 hikes (1 solo, 1 at night), and free time for just hanging out. It is a tribute to how engaged our campers and our staff were that we were able to accomplish so much and have so much fun!
- We instilled in campers a sense of pride for what they care about -- "Be loud and proud!"
- We learned about inspiring young activist role models making social change in different ways, and watched a video highlighting the amazing winners of the Brower Youth Awards (link to http://www.broweryouthawards.org/ )
- We did a massive brainstorm of ways to bring about change in A Million Ways to Make a Difference!
- We analyzed what made some of our most inspiring leaders, such as Martin Luther King and Barack Obama, effective.
- Each camper chose an Issue of Importance (IOI) to them.
- Everyone practiced sharing about their IOI to others and thinking about their most compelling "talking points."
- We did a workshop on how to start and run an effective school club focused on any issue (Read: shared leadership, clear goals, taking action, publicity, and food!)
- Mindfulness, nature, and rites of passage activities - such as visioning about what we care about most, walking through the on-camp labyrinth, a solo hike, a night hike, and just being with the quiet and beauty of nature
- Workshop on how to be a great leafletter -- how to get people to take flyers you could hand out about your club or issue. (The key is being LOUD and PROUD!)
- Deconstructing advertising and challenging the culture of overconsumption.
- Community building -- through "Thanking and Sharing" nightly closing circles, Challenge Day's Power Shuffle, theather of the oppressed, and trust walks
- Communication training - such as creating talking points, communicating with the media, and nonviolent communication
- Analyzing gender roles and society's traditional expectations and limitations
- Compassion Into Action activities addressing conscious choices we can take in our daily lives to make a difference. We watched The Meatrix in talking about our food choices, FLOW:For the Love of Water in looking at water issues, and The Story of Stuff in considering our consumption.
- Addressing personal fears or barriers to leadership
- Thinking deeply and strategically about IOIs (Issues of Importance)
- Explored issues of privilege and distribution of resources in a way that was experiential and empowering