Dear Friend,

Thank you for your interest in the World Youth Jam, October 13-21, 2003, in Rishikesh, Uttaranchal, India. This annual week-long event connects, supports and inspires 30 committed young leaders (ages 15-30, from 20 nations) whose lives are dedicated to building a thriving, just and balanced world for all. The World Youth Jam provides a healing and transformative context for community building, networking, rejuvenation and expanding the effectiveness of outstanding social change leaders.



"In Nigeria, the hopes of millions have been pinned on me. Everything I do is under the spotlight. If they want to sell papers, they put me on the cover. If they want to gain popular support in an election, they ask for my endorsement. Where does someone like me go when we need a safe place to be and learn? To renew, deepen the foundation of our work, and sharpen our focus? To share experiences, lessons and build relationships with others that can advance our thinking, approach, and capacity? We go to the YES! Jam, which gives us all that and so much more."
- Hafsat Abiola, 27, Founder, Kudirat INitiative for Democracy (KIND), Nigeria
The World Youth Jam embraces a holistic view of social change, believing with Gandhi that: "We must be the change we seek in the world." We look for participants who are growing and building positive change on three simultaneous levels: the internal (they are growing spiritually and personally); the interpersonal (they are seeking to bring love, integrity and honesty to their relationships); and the societal (they are building a world of justice, dignity, peace and balance). We believe that the personal and the public are connected, and as such, this event synthesizes the exploration of our personal lives and journeys with our collective work for a better world. It provides a space for participants to examine not only their work and commitments, but their beliefs, values, emotions, and modes of analysis - all in a community of trust that allows important insights and perspective to be gained.

"For me Jams are the magical place that brings wondrous beings together to take the magnifying glass of our collective vision, passion and strength, and… help us ignite into our highest potential." - Julia Butterfly Hill, 27, Founder Circle of Life Foundation, USA
World Youth Jam participants are founders of or in positions of leadership in local, national or international organizations or movements working for social justice,peace, freedom, dignity and environmental sanity. We come together for a week to build bonds of community, understanding and trust between people and movements, to see the powerful connections between the diverse issues we work on (and their solutions!), and to gain support and skills for the work to which our lives are committed. The World Youth Jam helps participants to re-connect with the inspiration and purpose behind the work that they do, to build bridges of solidarity and partnership across the lines of ethnicity, class, gender, geography, and area of focus, and to create a context where participants can meet and be affirmed on the deepest level of who they are.
"The Jam was a transforming and almost miraculous experience for me, my body, and my spirit. It was a reaffirmation of my belief in myself and my work. It was a space which allowed me to shun all hypocrisy and outer superficial attire that I've tried to protect myself with and enabled me to express my inner self genuinely & authentically." - Dhruv Malhotra, 16 Youth Action Network, India
What Do We Do? The program incorporates facilitated dialogue, sharing circles, inspiring guest presentations by world-renowned social change leaders, ceremony, dance, live music, artistic expression, organized networking, games, yoga, participant-led workshops, an outdoor adventure, and free time for participants to enjoy each other and the beautiful environment surrounding them.

Who Is Putting This On? The World Youth Jam is a project of Youth for Environmental Sanity (YES!), a youth leadership organization based in the US. YES! informs, inspires and empowers young people working for a world of social justice, peace, human rights and environmental sanity. YES! has spoken in person to more than 620,000 students in school assemblies, led hundreds of day-long workshops, and held more than 80 week-long camps and Youth Jams in eight countries, reaching young changemakers from more than 50 nations. Through camps, Youth Jams, organizing manuals, public speaking and a support network for young activists, YES! empowers the next generation to claim its voice and transform our world. The World Youth Jam is being organized by YES! in partnership with a four-member facilitation team:

Evon Peter is the youngest ever chief of the Neetsaii Gwich'in tribe of Arctic Village, a remote village accessible only by small plane in northern Alaska. His primary responsibility is for the wellbeing of his tribe. This entails recovery from the impacts of colonization while bridging relationships with the contemporary global community. Revitalization and sustainability of language, culture, ecology and world-view are fundamental to this effort. Evon is a well-recognized advocate of indigenous peoples' rights and responsibilities, and is active as a speaker and facilitator within the State of Alaska, nationally and in the international community.

Coumba Toure is coordinator of the Youth Leadership Program at the Institute for Popular Education in Mali. Coumba works for women's empowerment through popular education, and has facilitated hundreds of educational workshops. She speaks regularly at college campuses and conferences internationally, and she also works with 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement to organize numerous exchanges between African-American youth from the Southern United States and African youth from throughout West Africa.

Ocean Robbins founded Youth for Environmental Sanity (YES!) at 16, and has served in a leadership role with YES! for 12 years. He is co-author of Choices for Our Future, has spoken in person to 200,000 high school students, and has facilitated 31 week-long camps for young activists from 45 countries. He has served as a board member for Friends of the Earth, The Tide Turning Coalition, and EarthSave International, and was recently selected by Utne Reader as one of 30 Young Visionaries.

Shilpa Jain is a learning activist with Shikshantar: The Peoples' Institute for Rethinking Education and Development, based in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. Shilpa has conducted research, written books and articles, and facilitated workshops on topics ranging from globalization, life expressions, ecology, democratic living, gender, and innovative learning. She loves learning with/from children and youth, and has extensive experience doing so around self-esteem, creativity, collaboration, identity and conflict resolution. Her other interests include pottery, dance and organic farming.

Why Do We Call It A "Jam"?
"The Jams are model classrooms for activists. Nothing, absolutely nothing, beats meeting 30 young people who are not only holding the keys to global change but who are absolute angels. It's like seeing a new dawn for young activists." - Kimmie Weeks, 20, United Nations Young Ambassador Corps, Liberia
Food and Location For the first time ever, we will be hosting the World Youth Jam outside of the United States. In India, the site we have chosen is Parmarth Ashram, a large spiritual community on the banks of the Ganges River near Rishikesh. The ashram is a beautiful and expansive space, incorporating nature, spiritual study and simple living. To respect this space and the purpose of the World Youth Jam, there will be no smoking or consumption of illegal drugs or alcohol. Also, at YES!, we believe that the way we treat each other and the way we feed each other makes a difference. As part of our stand for just, sustainable, compassionate and tasty food - and to challenge the violence of corporate agriculture, and especially industrialized meat production - the World Youth Jam will serve food that is delicious, organic, natural, and vegetarian. You can learn more about the ecological impact of meat production at http://www.yesworld.org/info/meat.htm. We apologize that this articles is fairly US-centered, and welcome your input in creating more international articles for future use. If you plan to apply and eating this way for a week is difficult for you, please let us know in your application and we can discuss how to best support your participation.

"I had forgotten where 'I' fit into my work. The Jam has been an essential element in propelling me along my professional and personal journey. I see a new vision of my activism -"holistic, connected, loving, and full. These bonds, certainly, are like the strands of a braid - we are stronger now in our weaving together. The Jam will ripple through my life forever." - Jennifer Kloes, 27 Global Youth Connect
Cost We are committed to raising the funds necessary to enable the participants we select to attend the Jam, whatever their level of ability to pay. And to create this event, it is vital that those who are able to, contribute as much as they can. We provide travel scholarships to those who need it, and ask everyone who is able to pay for some or all of their travel to Delhi, India, to do so. Donations to our travel fund, and any other forms of reciprocity (financial or otherwise) are also welcome.

Next Steps
Before applying, we encourage you to visit our web site, http://www.youthjams.org, for more info on Youth Jams, our underlying principles, and bios of past Jam participants.

You can apply online at http://www.yesworld.org/jamapps/worldjamapp03.htm. If you have any questions, please contact Ocean Robbins in the USA at 831-465-1082, or ocean@yesworld.org.

We wish you much love and strength on your journey through these difficult times.

Yours in solidarity for a better world,
Coumba Toure, Ocean Robbins, Shilpa Jain, and Evon Peter, World Youth Jam Facilitators