YES! Events 2004-2005

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP JAMS

World Youth Leadership Jam November 14-22, 2004

YES!'s seventh annual World Jam united 30 outstanding young leaders (most under age 30) from 18 countries for a week in Senegal, West Africa. Jam participants came from Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Ghana, India, Israel, Kenya, Mali, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Thailand, and the USA. The Jam highlighted outstanding young leaders, nearly half of them from Africa, who are reaffirming life, transforming communities, and building movements for sustainability and freedom. Participants delved deep into the links between racism, ecology, social justice and the shifts in values and consciousness that can help move our world towards healing and balance.

"I had an amazing time at the Jam - the best week of my life. The Jam was an overwhelming experience, in an entirely good way. It was an emotional, spiritual and mental experience that has changed the way I look at everything and everyone and actually changed ME. I'm looking forward to the challenges of my life and to the opportunities that have been opened up to me. I went to the Jam feeling like a child in a world of adults, but I came back feeling like an adult living in a world of children."

-Amrita Bhatia, 18, Seeking Needed Actions For Peace, Mumbai, India

Latin American Jam January 16-23, 2005

Held in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, the second annual Latin America Jam selected 25 of the region's outstanding young leaders from a pool of more than 500 applications. Participants came from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru and Brazil. Representing positions of influence and leadership in organizations working for peace, environmental protection, human and children's rights and social justice, participants engaged in mutual sharing, learning, networking and community-building among some of the young people who will shape the new Latin America. Immediately following the Jam, constituents participated in the 100,000-strong World Social Forum, by holding a special workshop for 600 WSF delegates in which they presented some of the learnings that came out of the Jam.

"The Jam was a totally new moment in my life, a kind of challenge of finding inside me the stories, motivations and reasons for my work. Why am I here? Is another world possible? The Jam didn't finish in January 2005 - it was only beginning. We're not talking about any kind of young activists meeting but more... a seed able to build another possible world."

- Leonardo Jianoti, YB News Youth Agency, Curitiba, Brazil

New York City Local Jam September 17-21, 2005

The Global Youth Action Network organized a Local Jam for young leaders from 15 organizations in the New York City metropolitan area. The initiative brings together local youth organizers and organizations to cultivate strategic partnerships and collaborative action that will develop a more unified and effective youth movement in one of the world's largest cities.

"Before I participated in the Jam, I was very dedicated to doing youth work, but isolated and lacking support. Now I feel that my project has so much more potential. I met some of the most talented and amazing people here, and I believe that we will support each other for life."

- Sarah Quinter, 19, Founder, Misled Youth Network, New York, USA

LEVERAGING PRIVILEGE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Leveraging Privilege for Social Change Jam July 24-30, 2005

YES!'s third annual Leveraging Privilege for Social Change (LPSC) Jam brought together 28 diverse young leaders with access to exceptional privilege for a week of dialogue about power, money, our lives and the challenges and opportunities of our times. Participants included young changemakers with privilege in a variety of forms, including monetary wealth (collective financial resources that reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars), public attention (participants carry significant music and film industry presence), and philanthropy (giving of time, talent, and/or money). The LPSC Jam was a place to explore the many sides of privilege, to look at the values and visions we carry, and to help participants bring their lives and their social impact into greater alignment with their values.

"My week at the Jam helped me to realize that I can't leverage privilege for social change by optimizing an investment portfolio, or facilitating the establishment of a charitable lead trust. Rather, leverage comes from open, honest conversations with other passionate, visionary and transparent individuals like those the Jam attracts. Leverage comes from linking arms, building bridges, and inspiring movements toward common goals. My Jam experience was a beautiful balance of humility and empowerment."

- Erik Falconer, 33, Falconer Group Family Wealth Management, Traverse City, MI

Intergenerational Dialogue on Leveraging Privilege for Social Change July 30-31, 2005

Immediately after the LPSC Jam, 35 more people ages 14-81 joined the Jam participants for a 60+-person Intergenerational Dialogue. It was a profound and provocative exchange, and many valuable partnerships were built.

"What a cauldron of unimaginable power. You are blessed in being able to reach across the chasms that can at times separate the generations, with your specialness that touches so many of us."

- Jeff Grossberg, 59, Founding Partner, Guidestone Consulting Group, Boulder, CO

Transforming Philanthropy Retreat May 17-20, 2005

YES! joined with The Fetzer Institute and Shinnyo-En Foundation, to bring together leaders from more than a dozen organizations and philanthropic institutions for several days of dialogue exploring transformative partnership between grantors and grantees.

Donor-Partner Mini-Jam September 23-24, 2005

YES! convened a two-day gathering of some of the organization's major donors, board, staff, and core organizing partners. This "Mini-Jam" enabled a diverse group of participants to learn from and engage with YES!'s insights and growing edges around cross-cultural community building, transformative philanthropy, bringing sustainability and spiritual roots into our work, and leveraging privilege for social change.

"I was profoundly moved that space was created for those of us who love and support YES! to experience the flavor of a Jam first-hand. Thanks to brilliant and inspired facilitation, and a truly extraordinary and diverse group of individuals, (it was) positive, intentional, safe, lively, and fun."

- Avi Peterson, 40, YES! Visionary Partner's Circle Member, San Francisco, CA

Launching Two New Programs

Leveraging Privilege for Social Change alumni have joined with peers to launch two new YES!-sponsored initiatives focusing on building communities of support within specific LPSC sub-constituencies. Power and Privilege for the People (P3) supports resource-privileged young people of color, while Leverage Alliance is building a community of young people who have access to substantial financial resources and a commitment to social change.

SUPPORTING ALIGNED MOVEMENTS

YES! supports movements working towards a thriving, just and sustainable way of life for all through public speaking at conferences and on school campuses, workshop facilitation, donor-directed grant funds, the Art in Action Camp, our web site, and distribution of educational materials.

Art in Action Camp July 26-August 4, 2005

YES! partnered with Cultural Links, Global Exchange, Dancers Without Borders and others to hold our sixth annual Art in Action Camp. Thirty young leaders from across the US, 85% of them youth of color, came together to learn about global and local movements for justice and sustainability, and building alternatives to war and violence in our communities. Participants made original music, poetry, spoken word, dances, murals, and giant puppets, using art as a medium to build community, find their voice, and take a stand for the world they want to help create. The camp culminated with a performance attended by more than 200 people.

"To say you have changed my life is an understatement. From the moment I arrived, I was welcomed to a space that embraced both art and activism. (I) challenged my heart to breathe for the first time, surrounded with love and peace. I do not know how to express the great appreciation I have for the effort, dedication, patience and love you all put into 10 days."

- Nathalie Sanchez, 19, Los Angeles, CA

The Seeds of Justice Fund

A YES! alumna established the Seeds of Justice Fund with a gift of $650,000 to be distributed through YES! by a diverse collective of social change leaders. The Fund will strategically support individuals and community-based organizations worldwide working on the internal, interpersonal, and systemic levels to build a thriving, just and sustainable future.

Being A Voice For Change

YES! founder Ocean Robbins spoke at numerous conferences, reaching leaders from thousands of organizations and networks. These events included, among others: The Institute of Noetic Sciences 11th International Conference on Consciousness and Healing, University of California at Santa Cruz and at Berkeley's Education for Sustainable Living, the Creating A Sustainable Future campus organizing conference, the Green Earth Festival, and the Foundation Incubator's conference on Young Adults in Philanthropy.

Community Alliances Initiative (CAI)

YES! continued to build and deepen CAI, an intentionally diverse and intergenerational community of leaders in the Santa Cruz area. CAI members held twelve one-day meetings and a weekend-long retreat facilitated by Be Present founder Lillie Allen to strengthen our facilitation skills and leadership.

Success Story:

After hurricane Katrina left hundreds of thousands of people homeless along the US gulf coast, one of YES!'s core affiliates, 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement (21C), opened the doors of their small Selma, AL camp site to displaced evacuees. YES! put out the word that 21C needed urgent support, and within weeks 31 donors contributed more than $40,000 to help 21C meet the pressing needs of their community. More than 100 people, many of them directly out of the Superdome catastrophe, came to 21C and received food, housing, and emotional and logistical support. YES! alumni Holly Roberson and Angel Kyodo Williams traveled to Selma to spend a week volunteering with 21C. By mid-October, 2005, all of the displaced evacuees who had come to 21C had been relocated and were settled with family members or in homes.

"After hurricane Katrina, I was so grateful to know fellow Jam alumna Malika Sanders, and to have the opportunity to support her and 21C's relief work in Selma. 21C offered a chance for evacuees to regroup and come together as families - families facing huge decisions. I'm blessed to have been a witness to the rebuilding of lives and to provide support."

- Holly Roberson, 32, BonaVita Enterprises, Inc., New York, NY